A fresh start
by BetterinTexas
Summary: After the return from Italy, Edward still refuses to change Bella. She decides to run rather than wait for the Volturi to come. Now know one knows where Bella is. Not even Bella. Bella X OC
1. Chapter 1

Don't own it

Okay. I am going to play around with this Bella OC thing. This takes place after Bella and Edward come back from Italy and he tells her he won't turn her. Instead of a family vote Bella takes a different approach. It's going to be kinda romancy I guess you could say. I like to write what I know somewhat so I am going to stick to Texas for part of this story. I have had this story in my mind for a few months but needed an OC to pull it off. I couldn't fit it with an existing vampire. So that said I realize this won't be reviewed much but I am going to have fun with it anyway. If anybody cares I kind of picture my OC looking like Bradley Cooper. Since I formed this idea while watching the A Team. That's probably the only reason. He just seemed like a fun guy to write into a story.

Chapter 1

Hide a way Lake Texas

Bo POV

"I think you should have charged him more." I heard my older sister, Steph mumble from the passenger seat.

"I charged him the same as I charge everyone for that table, Steph." I replied to her unwanted comment.

"You should raise your prices."

"And you should mind your business and let me worry about mine."

"You don't have to be an asshole about it. I was just making a suggestion. You do really good work. Your stuff is a helluva lot better than they sell at that unfinished furniture store in Tyler. He would have paid twice that much there. I just don't like seeing my baby brother get takin advantage of."

"Yeah, and he couldn't afford those prices. He got what I told him I would make him and he paid what I asked. Now leave it alone."

She really doesn't get me sometimes. I don't know what the hell her problem is. Yeah I do. Mom and Dad spoiled her ass.

I enjoyed what I did. I liked working with my hands. I had been making furniture since I was 15 years old. I was damn good at it too. Stephanie hasn't done a damn thing with her life except get married, have a kid, get beat by her drunk sorry ass husband, damn near get me thrown in jail for beating his sorry ass half to death, and then moving in with our parents all at the age of 26. Now that our parents are dead it has fallen to me to take care of her spoiled ass.

"I'm sorry Bo. You're right. I'm just…I don't know. I just feel restless, you know? You ever get that feelin?"

Did I? Every damn day. It's not that I minded my life. It was pretty good. Work for myself. Work from home. I never had a problem getting a date for the night if I wanted one. I had pretty good friends. But that was it. That was life. No real excitement. No great romance. No adventure.

I wanted an adventure. Course living in the middle of East Texas near a place called Hide-a-Way Lake, ain't exactly the right place to find adventure.

"Looks like somebody ran off the road up ahead." Steph mentioned casually. I looked down the road and didn't see anything.

"What the hell are you talking about Steph? I don't see a car on the side of the road."

"We just passed it. Tire tracks going into the grass on the side of the road. Looked like somebody drove off damn near into the trees. Must have been a drunk son of a bitch. There ain't a car there now though."

I slowed my truck down. I don't know why. To this day I don't know why. But I had to find out what those tracks were leading to.

"What the hell are you doing Bo? I got to go pick up Hunter from school."

"Hold on a bit, Steph. I want to check these tracks out." I told her, turning around. Pulling off to the side of the road I could see what it looked like to her. A drunk drove off the road into a ditch. Grass was still bent so it probably happened last night. Problem was there were no skid marks on the asphalt. The tracks were steady. More like someone pulled off. This was a damn strange place to pull off though. No driveways. No pastures. No gates. No houses. Just a lot of fucking pine trees on the other side.

"I'm gonna take a look in the woods, Steph. You stay here."

"Fuck you, Bo. Now you got me spooked. I'm comin with you."

"Of course you are." I mumbled under my breath.

I followed the tracks. Nothing but pine needles under trees as soon as they ended. I walked about twenty feet into the woods and saw a body face first lying on the ground.

"Bo is that…?"

"Be quiet, Stephanie." Usually when I say her full name she knows it's time to shut the hell up. I looked around and didn't see anyone around. No ground being disturbed. I can't believe I let my gun in the truck. Birds chirping.

I walked slowly up to the body, trying not to disturb the ground. She looked dead. At least she wasn't moving. She had on a thick jacket so it was hard to tell if she was breathing. I had seen enough TV shows to know if she was dead, the scene didn't need to be disturbed any more than necessary. Of course this may be out of the Lindale Police Department's league. Tyler would probably take this one if she was dead.

I knelt down next to her body and felt the side of her neck. She was warm. I mean she was cool but not dead cold. Just like she had been laying here most of the night. I saw the shine in her hair wasn't her natural brown hair. It was blood. She had taken a nasty hit to the back of the head. There was blood but it seemed but mostly dry.

I placed my hand on her back and felt her shallow breaths.

"Shit Bo, is she dead?"

"No. She's alive. But we need an ambulance. Get my cell from the truck and call 911. Call Anna and tell her to pick up Hunter."

Steph to her credit didn't say a word. I heard her leaving to do as I said.

I thought about rolling her over to at least get her face out of the dirt. Since she wasn't dead I don't suppose it would matter.

"Hey girl. Girl. Wake up."

She started moaning. I gently rolled her over and brushed the dirt off her face. Then she opened her eyes and I was caught. Damn she had pretty brown eyes.

"Who are you?" she whispered, staring up at me.

"My name is Bo Walker, ma'am. What's your name?"

She seemed to be thinking hard for a second. Or that could have been a headache from the big bump on her head. She finally opened her mouth again.

"I have no idea who I am."

BPOV

I was two seconds from freaking out. I was surrounded by very tall trees. My head hurt. I was on the ground. I had this gorgeous pair of green eyes staring down at me. He was smiling. He had dark blonde hair, kind of shaggy. Beautiful smile. He was gently brushing dirt off of my face.

He said his name was Bo. He asked me my name.

My two seconds were up. I was officially freaking out.

I started hyperventilating. Then I felt his hands on my face.

"Calm down there darlin. Calm down. I'm sure you are just a little shaken up. Take a few deep breaths. There is an ambulance on the way. We will get you better. It will all come back to you."

I tried to stand and suddenly felt like vomiting. I fell back to one knee.

"Hold on there. Take it easy. Why don't we sit here till the police get here, okay?" Bo said in the calmest voice. It seemed like a good idea.

I jumped when I heard her voice.

"The police and ambulance are on their way. Holy Shit! Is she up?"

"Nope." Bo answered her.

"You ain't got to be such a smart ass all the time."

"Hey, this is my sister Stephanie. She is with me, okay? She called to get you some help."

I nodded my head but could feel my eyes already closing.

I woke up tied down to a stretcher in what I could only guess would be in the back of an ambulance. I saw a paramedic starting an IV. I guess the poke is what woke me up.

"Hey there sleeping beauty." I turned my head and saw Bo there on the bench next to me. He was still smiling. I tried to smile back but don't know if I succeeded.

I woke up in what I suppose was the ER. A doctor was shining a light in my eyes. It hurt.

"Hello there. Welcome back."

"Where am I?"

"East Texas Medical Center, Tyler, Texas." The doctor answered.

Did I live here?

"Do I live around here?"

"I don't know miss. Do you? What is your name?"

"I don't know."

"Told you, Doc." A voice from beside the bed, spoke up.

I turned my head and there he was.

"Do we know each other?" Maybe he was my husband. No. I'm 18. I know I'm 18.

"No ma'am. We just met this morning when I found you taking a nap in the woods." He smiled. He had a really beautiful smile. Have I thought that before?

"Ma'am, what is the last thing you do remember?" the doctor asked.

I thought about it. Surely I would remember something. I knew I was 18. I didn't…that was it? It was a blank. I felt like crying.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. No need for all that. Just relax." Bo said quietly from the corner.

"I know I am 18. That's it. I don't know my birthday. I don't know my name. I don't remember my life! What the hell is wrong with me? Why does my head hurt so badly?" I nearly screamed at the doctor.

"Listen Miss. Just relax. This young man found you on the side of the road this morning. You were knocked out in the woods and you have a pretty severe contusion on the back of your head. We are going to have you take an MRI and an EEG. We will figure it out. Until then we are going to admit you and see what we can find out. The police will probably want to talk to you to see if they can figure anything out. Check your fingerprints to see if we can get an ID on you. See if there are any missing person's posters out there, we may have seen. If you are missing from around here we will find out pretty quick.

A nurse took me to my room. Bo came with me.

"You don't have to stay with me. I'm sure you have a life or something to get back to." It was sweet and I really did want him to stay. He was the only friend I had right now. But I didn't want to be a burden.

"Nah, seeing as how I work for myself. I can pretty much do what I want. Since I found you I think I will stick with you till we can find out where your people are."

"My people?"

"Yeah, your people. Friends, family, that sort of thing."

"Oh of course."

"You know judging by your lack of an accent, you aren't a yankee and you aren't a southerner and I am going to go out on a limb and say you aren't a Texan either. You sure as hell ain't a Cajun, thank God. You could be a northern land thief."

"A land thief?'

"Yeah. Oklahoman. But I doubt it. Probably somewhere Midwest. Don't worry. The police will find out where you are from."

As if it was timed, an older man in a suit walked in.

"Is this our mystery woman?" He asked, smiling at me. He had gray hair, slightly overweight, looked around 50.

"I suppose I am."

"Don't suppose you can tell me how you got into our neck of the woods."

"No sir. I have no idea."

"My name is Detective Fred Bronkowski. I'm with the Tyler PD missing persons unit. I'm the one who is going to help figure out where you come from little lady. Are you the man who found her?"

"Yeah. Bo Walker." Bo reached out his hand and the officer shook it.

"What the hell were you doing out there son?"

"My sister noticed some tire tracks on the side of the road going up to the trees. Looked fresh and I didn't see a car there. Thought I would take a look."

"Based on that?"

"I wasn't in a hurry so I thought what the hell." Bo shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I guess it's a good thing you did. You didn't find no ID or anything?"

"Nope. Didn't see any lying around. Of course I didn't check her."

"Was there anything on me?" I asked, hopefully..

"Nope. Not one bit of ID. Don't worry though. I am going to take your picture and run it through a missing person's database nationwide to see if we ever get a hit. We are also going to run your fingerprints. See if anything comes up."

I sat back, sort of relieved and a little worried. What if it didn't work? What if no one was looking for me? No ID. No way of getting a job without ID. No money. No idea where to go for help. Guess I would have to rely on myself.

The officer took my prints and my picture. A nurse took me to an MRI machine. I said by to Bo, thanking him for everything he did for me. He just smiled. I guessed I wouldn't see him again. That didn't help my mood. I mean it's not every day you get woken up by a gorgeous guy. The machine bothered me a little bit but not so much that I panicked. The tech asked me if I was claustrophobic and I told him I didn't know.

Guess I wasn't.

When I got back to the room I saw Bo sitting by my bed.

"Your still here." I told him pointing out the obvious.

He looked down at his lap.

"You are right. I am still here. What the hell am I doing?" He looked panicked and then smiled.

Despite the situation I found myself in, I smiled back.

"Not that I am complaining but why are you still here? I'm sure you have better things to do."

"Nope. Not at the moment. I was thinking of getting some crappy hospital food and having dinner with you. Maybe watching a little TV. What television shows…ahh…nevermind! We can watch anything. Even re runs are going to be new for you."

"You are kind of a smart ass, aren't you?" I grinned.

"Maybe. A small bit. Not too bad though. Look I found you so I am going to stick with you until we can get you back to where you belong, alright? You want me to leave, say the word and I will pretend to not be around and watch you from a distance."

Laughing, I looked him in the eyes.

"I'm sure a guy like you has a girlfriend. Wasn't there a girl when you found me?"

"That's my sister Stephanie. No, I don't have a girlfriend. So why don't you relax and tell me if you can name these shows."

He began clicking through channels. I didn't remember them. Any of them. This was going to be bad.

Police intake technician POV

I hated this fucking job. I hated it with a passion. When I was hired I thought I would be going to crime scenes and doing CSI shit. Nope. Stuck in a room and scanning fingerprints and photos.

I went to college for this? Hell I could have done this at a photography studio.

I heard the knock on the door. Must be Bronkwoski. He's the only one who bothers to knock.

"What's up Fred?"

"Hey Tony. Need you to scan these photos and fingerprints and put them on the wire. Girl has no ID and no idea who she is or where she came from. If you get a hit let me know."

"No problem, Tony." He handed me the fingerprint cards and photo. Pretty girl. I bet somebody is missing her.

I placed the photo and card on my desk and was about to turn the scanner on when someone else barged through the door. Fucking Stewart.

"Whats up Tony? I got a lot of work for you here. New faces from the gang unit. We need IDs ASAP.

"Put them on top of the card on my desk. I'm going to go ahead to lunch I suppose. I will get them all scanned and ran when I get back." If I was going to do this it would take me the rest of the afternoon. May as well have some lunch and get a fresh start. I placed the stack on top of my file cabinet.

I returned from lunch to get started. I grabbed the stack of papers on top of the file cabinet. Stewart busted in and knocked the stack from my hands. Asshole!

"You got my IDs?"

"I just got back from lunch, you dick. Now they are all over the ground. Why the fuck don't you knock?"

"Just get me the IDs. All twelve of them." He slammed the door on the way out. Fucking gang guys think they are so bad ass.

I bent down and started picking up the photos. Something wasn't right. Didn't he say there were twelve of them? Maybe one slid under the file cabinet. I didn't feel like getting on my stomach to look so I counted. Yep. Twelve photos. Better get busy before that asshole comes back.

EPOV

"Charlie is coming back."

"Yes, I can hear his car from the road. It does have a distinctive sound." Carlisle responded.

"He doesn't have any new information."

"Of course not. If he did he wouldn't be trying to press us for information we don't have."

"If Jacob Black hadn't told him Bella ran off with Alice, we wouldn't be in this situation." Emmett grumbled.

"No, if Edward had just turned her, we wouldn't be in this situation." Jasper added. I couldn't disagree. This entire disaster was my fault.

I took a deep breath remembering the last time I saw Bella. It was two weeks ago. I was in her room after Charlie had grounded her for life when we returned from Italy. She talked about turning. I told her I wouldn't do it. She brought up the Volturi. I told her I would protect her. She asked who would protect Charlie. I told her I would do that as well. She told me to get out. I left. I should have stayed outside. Instead I was confused. Frustrated. Happy to be with her, but back to the same situation we found ourselves in before. Now it was worse. It wasn't as simple as turning her down now. The Volturi were involved. The next morning, Charlie Swan was at our door with a warrant to search the premises. Bella had left in the night. Her truck was gone. Her clothes were gone. Most of them anyway. While Charlie was searching the house for Bella, I ran to her room. Nothing seemed out of place. No sign of a struggle. No smell of other vampires was in the air. I could smell the one thing guaranteed to catch my attention. The smell of Bella's blood. It was under her bed. I looked and saw an envelope under the mattress. An envelope that simply had Edward written on it. She had placed a drop of her blood on the envelope, knowing I would find it.

The letter simply told me that she never wanted to see me again. It was over. She would be leaving to protect Charlie and hide from the Volturi and I was not to follow her.

Of course I followed her. Outside to where her truck had been. She couldn't be that far. It had only been 6 hours since I saw her. But I had no idea which direction she may have gone. I ran home, hoping Alice would have an idea of where to look.

She had nothing.

Charlie was obviously furious.

"Let me get this straight. My daughter disappears for three days with Alice. You come back with her. She says she went with Alice because of a misunderstanding the two of you had. She goes up to bed and the next morning she is gone again and you are telling me you have no idea where she is. None of you?"

"I promise you Chief Swan, we have no idea where she might be. Edward was at home all night. As were my children." Carlisle offered. Charlie wasn't buying it.

"I know you and your family had something to do with it. You are not to leave town until my daughter is found. If you do, I swear I will have every one of your photos all over the national news. You understand me?"

"Of course Charlie. We would never leave before Bella was found and safely returned to you." Esme said, trying to calm him down. Charlie walked out without anther word. Jacob Black followed afterward.

"I can't smell her near here. You changed her. You broke the treaty."

"We don't know where she is Jacob." I said quietly.

"Bullshit! You know exactly where she is. She is changing into a blood sucking leech right now, isn't she?"

"Jacob, if she was, don't you think one of us would be with her? We are all here. You haven't smelled her around our house. If we changed her wouldn't it make sense for us to go somewhere far away where you couldn't find us and change her there? Never return to Forks?"

Black could apparently see reason. He was still suspicious. The Pack kept a close eye on us.

Still no one had a clue for a week. At least until Charlie Swan finally caught a break.

I listened to his thoughts outside the station. He wouldn't give us details about the case since he considered us suspects. I had to find out on my own.

Bella's truck had been discovered on the side of the road abandoned and burned in Southern Indiana. No license plates on the truck. Her wallet and clothes were found in the truck. The truck was towed to a wrecking yard as an unclaimed vehicle.

Charlie drove to Indiana immediately. I followed from a distance.

We learned at some point her truck was burned on the side of the road in Indiana. The remains of her purse, ID and luggage were in the truck. The name was unrecognizable on the driver's license but the photo was somewhat clear. It was hers. She was out in the world, with no ID, no clothes. She didn't walk out of here. She was taken. Her truck was pulled over on the side. Flat tire? Broke down? Out of gas?

For whatever reason she stopped her truck here. Now she was gone.

Now Charlie Swan was back. Since he had no leads he spent every waking hour tracking our whereabouts after we left Forks the first time. Jasper and Emmett were staying quite busy making new identities, addresses and school and employment records for Los Angeles.

We smelled him immediately. Jacob Black was with him. Great. The boy had become obsessed with Bella after we had left. If I couldn't read his mind I would think he kidnapped her to get her away from the evil vampires.

No. Bella left me. She had enough of me. She said she never wanted to see me again. She was heading south to get away. To protect Charlie. To disappear.

It was looking more and more like someone helped her disappear on her journey.

I honestly did not think I would ever see her again. I had promised Esme I would never go to the Volturi again. I had promised Bella I would never try to kill myself again. I suppose it was only right. I would have to live without her. I would have to live with the pain. The same pain I put her through when I left that I saw so clearly in Jacob's mind.

Charlie knocked on the door and Esme and Carlisle answered. I stayed back.

"Good morning Chief Swan. Any new leads on Bella?" Carlisle asked, giving his customary greeting.

Charlie didn't respond to our inquiry about Bella. Instead he looked at Carlisle like he was excrement and simply said…

"You can leave."

"Excuse me?"

"I told you, that you couldn't leave until Bella was found. I don't believe now that you took her. So you can leave town."

Charlie turned around and got back to his cruiser. Jacob Black glared at us from the passenger's seat.

Carlisle turned to me.

"What was that all about?'

"He can find nothing on us dealing with our past that is unusual. He cannot find any new leads on Bella. He wants us to leave so he can follow us. Jacob Black has him convinced we have something to do with this." I told Carlisle.

"We do." Rose murmured in the background. She had been unusually quiet. She blamed herself for telling me prematurely that Bella was dead before Alice could confirm it.

"We are all involved Rose. But this is my fault." I whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't own it

I'm putting out the first two chapters. If no one likes it let me know and I will pull it and work on something else. It starts kind of slow but I have a pretty good idea where it is going to go.

Chapter 2

BPOV

I have been in this hospital a week now. I had a cracked skull. Hairline fracture. Enough to knock me out. Enough to give me generalized Amnesia according to the doctor. Not psychological. Physical. Meaning I may never get my memories back. If I did, they would be disjointed and could take years to recover even a single clear memory.

Detective Bronkowski told me that no matches had turned up for my fingerprints or photo but I would stay in the system. Apparently if anyone was looking for me they had not gone to the police yet. Maybe I had no one. Bo says not to worry. Everyone has someone.

Bo has been here every day. He went home at night and was here with breakfast for me at 9 AM every morning. I met his sister and nephew. They seemed nice. We talked mostly abut him since I really didn't know anything about me.

He was self employed. He worked from home. He said he was a carpenter but mostly built custom furniture. His sister worked at a convenience store 12 miles outside of Tyler at some place called Hide a Way Lake. They lived together there in the house they grew up in after their parents died in a car wreck last year. She had been living with their parents and he moved in to take care of her and her son, even though Bo was 4 years younger.

Stephanie seemed like a generally happy person. She also seemed like the type that would be a disaster if she didn't have someone around to tell her what to do. She was pretty though. Same dark blonde hair as her brother. Thin build. Same green eyes.

Today I would be leaving. The hospital couldn't justify keeping me any longer. The police had no idea who I was. I had no ID, no way to pay hospital bills, no money and no place to live.

A social worker gave me the names and addresses of some women's shelters and homeless shelters. Guess I didn't have much choice.

"You ready to get out of here today?' Bo asked, walking in at 9 AM on the dot.

"Yeah, I suppose. I uh, have to kind of figure out which one of these I am going to." I waived the brochures for my future residence options.

"What the hell are you talking about girl? Me and Steph got your room all fixed up last night."

"Bo, I can't live with you."

"What other options do you have? These places? They would eat you alive there. Besides you ain't got ID which means you can't get a job. I need some help with the books. You can work for me for room and board and such. Steph can't do books worth a shit. You can add and subtract right? You remember how?" He winked at me. I shot the finger at him.

"How do you know I'm not an axe murderer? I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You really wouldn't remember if you were, so what difference does it make?"

"How do I know you aren't an axe murderer?" I smiled at him.

"I suppose because if I wanted to kill you I would have done it when I found you passed out in the woods and wouldn't have been buying you breakfast and sharing this crappy hospital lunch with you every day."

"Bo, not that I am complaining but why have you done this? You know nothing about me. I know nothing about me."

"I found you. I'm gonna stick by you. It's that simple. I wouldn't be much of a man to leave you here in a strange place not knowing anyone with no money or means of supporting yourself. I got a job opening. You need a place to live until you can figure out where you came from. Mutually beneficial. That's it."

"That's it, huh?" Damn.

"Yep. That's it. Now you comin home with me or you planning on making soup a regular part of your diet?"

I took a deep breath. Stay in a homeless shelter or work for a gorgeous guy who has seemed to take an interest in me. Hard decision.

"Guess I am coming with you, boss."

"None of that now. Hey, Steph picked you up some clothes last night. Shoes, under wear, shirts, jeans. That kind of stuff."

'You didn't have to do that Bo."

"Yeah I kind of did. The clothes you had on weren't exactly clean and I can't have you stinkin up my house."

"Thanks." What else was there to say?

Bo POV

I had no idea what I was doing here. I knew nothing about this girl except she had a beautiful smile and beautiful eyes and I couldn't let her out of my life. Steph thought I was crazy. Maybe I was. But I wanted adventure. I wanted her. I am a big believe in fate. I believe fate brought me to her. There was nothing boring about her. We still hadn't decided what to call her. So I cleverly avoided the use of a name in conversation. I used Hey you a few times and she didn't seem to mind. I figured out that she was smart. Sarcastic. She laughed a lot. She wasn't a babbler. She could carry on a conversation but didn't run away with one.

I'm also pretty sure she likes my chest and biceps. Damn right, she did.

I wheeled her out of the hospital, dressed in the clothes I brought her. Steph pulled up into the pick up area and she hopped up, ready to get the hell out of here. Apparently the hospital wrote off her bills since they didn't even know who to charge it too. We arrived home and I gave her the tour. It wasn't a large house by any means but it had 4 bedrooms, so it would work. Steph slept in our parent's old room. I took the smallest room since I didn't need much except a bed and a closet.

"How's the head feeling?" Steph asked as soon as I brought her out of her room.

"It's feeling better." She whispered. Suddenly she seemed shy again. Probably nerves. If I was in her position, I would be freaking out. She seems to be taking the whole thing rather well.

"Why don't you relax and discover some more shows you like. I'm gonna get the grill ready. You need some good steaks after a week of that hospital crap."

"Okay. Actually do you have any books? I kind of feel like reading."

"Sure. What kind do you like?" I asked. This was good.

She seemed to think very hard about this.

"I have no idea." She frowned.

"Hey, no worries. I got all kinds of Harlequin romances in my closet. Come with me." Stephanie told her, smiling. Steph didn't have a lot of friends. Mostly because she was a bitch. So maybe she was as excited to have the mystery woman here as well.

"And you can think about a name."

"What?" my mystery woman asked.

"A name sweetie. We can't keep callin you sweetie or hey you." Stephanie explained. I'm glad she brought it up.

"I think we should call you Hermione." Hunter offered.

"Who is Hermione?" She asked him.

"Uh, Harry Potter? You've never read Harry Potter? Even Uncle Bo has read Harry Potter."

"Hunter, shut up." I glared at him. Little shit.

"Hunter I don't know if I have ever read Harry Potter. If you have the book, maybe I could read it?"

"Why do you talk funny?" Hunter asked, I'm sure making her more uncomfortable.

"Hunter! Steph can't you shut him up or take him to play in the road or something?"

"I didn't know I was speaking funny, Hunter." she smiled.

"You say everything real proper like."

"Maybe it would be good for you to help your grammar Hunter. Now go outside with your Uncle Bo and get some steaks on the grill. Me and hey you are going to discuss names." Steph replied.

I guess that was my cue to leave. I winked at the mystery woman and got rewarded by a smile. Good enough to get me through dinner.

BPOV

"Thank you for, you know, letting me stay here Stephanie." I told her when Bo walked out with Hunter.

"Well you are welcome but it wouldn't really matter what I thought on the matter. Bo decided you was his the moment he found you on the ground. He may not realize it yet but he probably does."

"What do you mean, I am his?" Things were going well. I hoped this wasn't some white slave sex ring or something.

"I just mean he was taken with you. My brother's a good lookin guy right?"

No point in denying it. She was understating how damn hot he was. I just nodded my head in agreement.

"Not that there is a lot of choice around here but damn near every available girl and a few who aren't so available have been after him for a while. A bunch of girls in Tyler have been trying to tie him down since the boy turned 16. He dated here and there but never stuck with one. Kept telling Mom and Dad that he would know when he met the one. I always thought he was full of shit. Course I went off and married the first guy I let between my legs and look how that turned out. He's a violent drunk and I'm a single mother. He's in prison now. Got caught selling crystal meth. But one day he will get out and I will have to deal with him again. I suppose I should have followed his lead. He always was the smarter one of the two of us."

"He seems pretty…"ripped, hot, would love to see him in a shower… "smart."

"Yeah, I bet that's what he seems like to you." Steph winked at me.

"Look at that blush. You do that a lot?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe."

"This is pretty freaky huh?"

"Yeah. It's strange. I keep wondering what happened. Where I am from. What was I doing there? How did I get there? Why didn't I have anything on me?"

"Well look at it this way. You may not have a past anymore but maybe your past sucked. I mean something bad happened for you to wind up in the woods with you skull cracked. Maybe you get a fresh start now. God knows I wish sometimes I could have one."

"Yeah. I mean, if I didn't have Bo…and you, to help me through this I would be so fucked."

"I know you mean Bo. It's alright. I'll be glad to help you out anyway I can, but honestly I would have called the police and watched them take you to the hospital and that would have been it."

I nodded my head. That's what most people would do.

"You got lucky with Bo. Or maybe all that fate crap he is always talking about is true. Either way, just relax. Now much else you can do now. So what do you want to be called?"

What did I want to be called? How does someone name themselves?

"I have no idea."

"If I said, what is your name, what's the first name that pops into your head?"

"Marianne." I replied without thinking of it. Had I read that name in a book before? It seemed like I had.

"That's a mouthful. How about Mary?"

I guess it was. "Sounds good Steph."

"You like beer?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Let's find out."

"That's my girl. Can't grill without cold beer. Why don't you go visit with Bo and I will bring us a couple.

Dinner went nice. Bo could really grill a steak. I made baked potatoes. I knew how to cook. The doctor told me I would retain skills I had in the past. Only the memories would be gone. Other than cooking though I didn't feel a single damn skill. That was disturbing. Guess I may have not had a lot going on. That could change though. Stephanie was right. This could be a fresh start. I can't do anything about the past so I may as well embrace the future.

I woke up the next morning and made coffee. Steph was dropping Hunter off at school and then heading to work herself.

"Bo is out in the back shed working. He can show you where his invoices and order forms are. I'm damn glad you are going to be doing that. I hate that crap. Have a nice day."

"What time did Bo get up?" I asked her as she was leaving.

"Same time as every day. An hour before sun up. Later Mary."

I walked out the back carrying a cup of coffee for him. It was 8 AM but already in the eighties according to the thermometer on the back porch.

I heard a power tool of some sort being operated in the shed. I opened the door and my heart stopped.

He was wearing blue jeans, boots and safety goggles. Nothing else. He was ripped. He had abs. I mean he had really cut abs. His chest was bulging. His biceps had that little vein that goes over the top of them, pushing out like there was no room. He was running a belt sander over what looked like a carved bench.

He must have heard me. He stopped the sander and turned around smiling. He was covered in a light glean of sweat and sawdust.

"Good morning Ma'am. Or should I say Mary?"

"Uh, either works." I mumbled, trying not to stare at him. "I, uhm, brought you some coffee."

"Thanks." He walked over and grabbed the cup from my hand.

"I wasn't sure how you liked it." Keep looking at the ground. Don't stare.

"Black is perfect. You can look at me, you know? I don't bite much."

I looked up and tried to focus on his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes.

"So, what are you doing?"

"Makin a bench for a guys back porch."

"This is what you do every day?"

"Most of the time."

"You uh…sand furniture without a shirt on?" Damn it! Now he was smirking.

"Yeah. I hope that doesn't bother you. I only wear a shirt when it gets cool. I don't just sand. I hammer, chisel and saw sometimes too. Carry lumber. It can get pretty hot."

"Yes it can." I whispered.

"Come on. This desk over here is where you will be working. It's far enough away that you can ask me questions but you won't be bothered by the saw dust."

Oh hell no. I'm supposed to do books while being in the same room with him doing that?

He showed me the receipts, the balance book. The order coming in from online. Orders locally. Seemed pretty simple. I looked at the rest of the shed.

"Hey, is that a weight machine?" I asked, spotting it in the corner.

"Yeah. I like to work out."

No shit.

"You lift weights you think?" He smiled.

"I don't know. I doubt it considering I have no muscle tone. But I think I would like to start. Can you show me?"

"Damn straight. We start tonight."

"Great." I replied. I was starting fresh. Maybe I couldn't remember who I was but I could figure out who I wanted to be and make myself that way.

"He, you think you have ever gone hunting?" Bo asked, surprising the hell out of me.

"I don't know. It seems like if I had I would know guns and I don't know guns. I don't think I have."

"Great. I can show you how to use guns. I tell you what. Screw the invoices for a while. Write down all the things you think you want to learn. Whatever I can't teach you, we will learn together."

"Why Bo?"

"What do you mean why? It will be fun."

"I mean why bother, I guess?"

"The way I figure it, you got an opportunity to do whatever you want. Be whatever you want. Hell we may as well have fun with it."

"No. Why is a guy like you who is hot and has all this going for him, taking me in?"

"You think I'm hot, huh?" Damn it!

"Uh, maybe. I mean you aren't disgusting to look at."

He laughed. Look him in the fucking eyes!

"Alright, I really didn't want to bring this up so soon. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. But since you want to know my motivations so bad I will tell you. First time I rolled you over do you know what I saw?" He was touching my cheek. Now if my legs can stop shaking this would be a nice moment.

'What did you see?" I whispered.

"You, with dirt on your face. So I brushed the dirt off your face and you opened your eyes and I was kind of trapped. I don't know how or why but we, Mary, we were meant to meet. I can't imagine not having you around. If that freaks you out I am sorry but you wanted to know."

Okay. How to process that information.

'You think we were meant to be?"

"Yeah. I know fate isn't a popular concept but I believe in it. So yeah. I think we were meant to be. At least to meet. The rest is up to us not to fuck up I suppose. But I don't want to let you go. I don't know how long it's gonna be before your memories come back. The doctor said they will probably never come back. But if they do and you go back to your old life, I want to spend as much time in this new life as you will let me. I want to have fun with you, Mary. I'm a fun guy. You should give me a chance."

I stared at him. I couldn't help it. I would say that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, but I can't know if that is true. But it has to be up there.

"Okay." I finally replied.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll get that list started, boss." I smiled and he winked at me.

'Good. Now I got to get back to work. You go make your desk the way you want it and I will get back to making the product."

He turned around and I looked at his ass. He suddenly turned around again, raising an eyebrow.

"Were you checking me out?"

"No. As if." I had to laugh. He caught me.

"It's all right. I like your ass too."

Damn.

Jacob POV

"They aren't leaving?"

"Doesn't appear that way Sam."

"Then they really don't know where she is." Sam concluded.

"Doesn't seem like it." I sighed. I really had thought they had hidden Bella. I was scared they were changing her somewhere into a vampire. But this…now I was almost hoping that was the case.

"They wouldn't have driven her truck to Indiana just to burn it along with her things." Paul put in.

"Yes they would. Make it look like a kidnapping, maybe a murder. Bella Swan is never found." I told him. It was my working theory. Until recently.

"Except they are all here. Have been since she went missing." Sam said, mirroring my thoughts.

"You think Bella was running from Victoria?" Quil asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "She never did before."

"Then it has to be something else." Sam whispered, in deep thought.

"Maybe Victoria got her." Leah offered.

"Then why would the bitch still be hanging around? Trying to get close to Bella's house?"

Nobody had an answer.

Finally Sam spoke.

"Look, we know she left with Alice Cullen to go stop Edward from killing himself or something. Apparently they went to Italy. According to Charlie she came back three days later, being carried by Edward Cullen. She went to bed and when Charlie woke up the next morning she was gone. All indications that she left willingly. Clothes and purse gone. Truck gone. I would bet at some point that night Edward Cullen slipped into her room, probably like he used to and they talked. He said something to make her run. She wouldn't have left Charlie otherwise."

I nodded my head. That was the key wasn't it? What would make Bella run? The only thing I could think of is that her being here would place people in danger. Probably Charlie.

"So let's ask him." Seth spoke up. He was so quiet I almost forgot he was there.

"Ask who Seth?"

"Let's ask Edward Cullen what was said. Maybe he will just tell us."

"The Cullens won't tell us anything." I looked at Seth. Was he serious?

Leah came to her brother's defense. "It's not a bad idea, Jake."

Sam spoke up. "They are right, Jake. It can't hurt to try. Let me call Carlisle. We will meet them in the clearing in an hour."

Fuck. I was going to have to look at that fucker again. I didn't want to look at him unless I was seeing his head in my jaws. I would do it though. For Bella.

Edward POV

"What do they want? It could be a trap Carlisle."

"I don't think so Edward. Sam didn't sound angry. He just sounded…really tired."

"I think only I should go Carlisle. It's me they want, if they are going to attack. All of us going is too dangerous."

"Hell no Edward. I plan to make sure you live a very long life." Emmett said, growling at me slightly. He blamed me. They all did. I couldn't fault them for that. It was my fault. She came to Italy to save me. To be with me. To be with me forever. What did I do? I turned her down. I deserve whatever I have coming to me. Emmett believes that is a long life without her.

"We all go, Edward." Esme said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

An hour later we were in a clearing at the treaty line. The entire pack was there. Sam and Jake were human. The reset were wolves. I read their minds and didn't see any aggressive thoughts.

Sam was the one who spoke.

"What happened?"

Carlisle and I looked at each other confused.

"What do you mean, what happened?"

Sam and Jake looked at me. I heard their questions.

"That's private." I replied.

"No it isn't. We love Bella. We protected her. Jake held her together when you all abandoned her. She went off to save your life. She came back and left in the middle of the night without you. We have a right to know what happened."

I looked at my family. They looked at me and nodded. I suppose they did have a right to know.

"I thought Bella was dead. Jake you remember when I called. You told me Charlie was at the funeral I assumed it was hers. I went to Italy to a coven of ancient vampires intent on talking them into killing me. Bella saved me. We were both taken to the leaders. The enforcers of the vampire law. They agreed to let us live provided Bella would be changed into a vampire. We returned. Bella asked me when it would happen. I told her it wouldn't. She was furious. She felt I was placing her life and Charlie's lives in danger. She didn't believe I could protect her and Charlie. She kicked me out and I went home. The next morning Charlie arrived with the news she was gone. I ran to her room and found a note under her bed to me. She had marked it with her blood so I would find it. The note said she never wanted to see me again. She had gone to protect Charlie. That's it. That is all I know."

The wolves said nothing for a few minutes. Finally Jacob looked at me.

"Why didn't you just do it? Why didn't you change her?"

I dropped my head to look at the ground.

"I didn't want this for her Jacob. It's why I left her in the first place."

They couldn't argue. I guess this flew in the face of their theory that we took her. I was surprised to see some of them had thoughts that they actually hoped we had. It was better than the alternative.

"So if you don't have her…she is really gone." Sam whispered, looking at the sky. I saw tears welling up in his eyes. I had no idea how close he had become to her. Jake was holding back tears.

"Yes." I whispered. I heard Esme sob behind me. Jasper was cringing. From his own emotions or ours or the wolves, I couldn't tell. I suppose it was everyone's emotions. No one said a word. Vampires and wolves, standing around a clearing torn up over a human girl. Only Bella, could bring out that kind of emotion in people.

Sam seemed to compose himself first.

"Okay. Let's talk about Victoria."


	3. Chapter 3

Don't own it

A/N. Thanks for the reviews! Looks like I carry on with this little romance. Thanks Finnick for catching the use of Bella. During my first run over I caught it five times. I posted and caught another one and fixed that. I think I have this one fixed now. I thought there was a way to do word search on Microsoft Word but I can't figure it out so if ya'll see me use the name Bella let me know and I will correct it. If anyone is wondering, I picked Marianne from the daughter in Sense and Sensibility. I figure that might be something that would stick in Bella's subconscious. Also don't plan on Bella getting her memories back. Ever. Not saying it won't happen but don't assume either. Vampire Bella or not? Maybe, we will see. I doubt it. But I never know where my imagination and characters might take me.

Chapter 3

BPOV

"Take your cheek off the stock. You don't want your cheek on it. It's going to kick a might bit."

"Okay." I said, concentrating on keeping my eye in the scope on the little X positioned over the paper man 50 yards away.

"Now it's going to kick a little so you need to get it pressed against your shoulder real snug. You don't want it coming back and slapping your shoulder."

"Okay." I wasn't sure about this. I had ear plugs in but I had a feeling this was going to be loud. Bo says it is a .270 rifle and not very high caliber, whatever the hell that means. All I knew was it was a very big gun.

"Now when you are ready, take a deep breath and hold it. Then gently squeeze the trigger."

"Okay." Bo was right behind me but I could feel him backing up. Don't be scared. Do this. You have the cross of the scope on the little paper guy. Take a deep breath, keep your eyes open and gently pull the trigger.

I took a deep breath. So far so good.

I gently squeezed the trigger. It didn't move as easily as I thought it would. I squeezed a little harder. It must have thrown off my aim. Why wouldn't this damn thing squeeze? The trigger must be broke. I gave it a little more pressure when it fired and kicked me back like a hammer blow.

I screamed when it went off. I was knocked back a couple steps and nearly fell down. Bo caught me from behind.

I spun around forgetting to point the big rifle at the ground and he hit the ground. I remembered and pointed the gun at the ground and he jumped up and grabbed my hand.

"Hey,hey, hey. Let's just calm down." He was smiling. I wasn't.

"Son of a fucking bitch, that hurt! Kick a little? Kick a little, Bo? Motherfucker! It feels like my whole damn shoulder is dislocated! Your fucking gun wrecked my shoulder. Squeeze gently? I did squeeze gently! It wouldn't move. Then it moved and kicked the crap out of my shoulder, Bo!" I was a little angry. My shoulder really hurt. Bo was still laughing.

"Shut up! It's not funny, you asshole! That hurt. I damn near peed all over myself when it went off." I was…yep full on pouting.

"Mary, your think cursing when you are angry is something that carried over from your old life or something you picked up from my sister?"

It was a valid question. I had been around Steph for a few weeks now. I had spent most of my time hanging out with Bo, learning to do the books, working out with him, hanging out and watching TV. He let me work with him on some of his furniture and was showing me the basics. Now he decided hunting was next on the agenda. I tried a compound bow but wasn't strong enough to pull it back. Now this. He could take this fucking gun and shove it up his cute ass.

Still I did spend time with Steph cooking and hanging out. She decided I needed to start working on a tan so she gave me one of her bikinis and we laid out while Bo was in town picking up supplies. Of course I fell asleep and he showed up. I noticed him looking from the shed and immediately got embarrassed. He tried to play it cool like he wasn't looking. I guess he may have liked what he saw. I laid there acting like I didn't know he was looking, afraid any movement I made, may jiggle something I didn't know could jiggle. He finally stopped pretending to work on whatever he was working on and walked in. I stayed out for a few more minutes before I planned to make my escape and run for clothes. Before I could though another fold back lawn chair was by my side and he lay down next to me. Shirtless of course, wearing a swimsuit. Now I had to not stare.

It was incredibly tension filled. At least I was full of tension. Not the kind that makes you nervous either.

I was so damn turned on I couldn't stand it. I have no idea how much sex I had before. But judging by my reaction to him, I must have had some experience. I mean I was 18 right? I had to have had sex before. Plus he lifted weights without a shirt on too. I lifted now with him. That meant I had to see all that…flexing.

He mentioned that I was getting red. I rolled over slowly, tightening all the muscles I did have. He put lotion on my back. And neck. And the back of my legs, down to my feet. So slowly. I kept my head buried in my arms stifling a moan by biting my forearm. He was doing this on purpose and I didn't mind a bit.

Later on I found out that I really couldn't tan. I could however burn.

The burn was almost worth it. Feeling Bo rubbing Aloe Vera on my back and shoulders felt so good.

We decided we would invest in stronger sun block when we swam.

He was planning on taking me camping at Tyler State Park this weekend. He and Stephanie and Hunter. He liked to take Hunter camping at least once a month in the spring and summer.

Bo was going to teach me how to fish. And how to mountain bike a technical trail at the park.

I was a little worried about this.

I still hadn't found many skills that came naturally but I seemed to be a natural klutz. Riding a bike through woods on a very narrow, unpaved trail did not seem like a good idea.

Bo called me a wimp. I'll be damned. Guess I was going mountain biking.

"Steph, what is mountain biking like?"

"Hell, it is horrible."

"What do you mean? Bo said it was fun." Shit. This wouldn't be good.

"Bo's and mine ideas of fun aren't always the same. He took me once. A branch slapped my face. I fell off the damn bike twice hitting roots. One came up and caught the back wheel, stopping the bike. Unfortunately I kept going over the handle bars. My ass was rubbed raw. My legs cramped. When we stopped for a drink my beer was all shook u in the can and mostly foam. Nope. First and only time I ever went on that trail. So good luck with that. Take some bandages. I will throw a few ice packs in the cooler. For God sakes wear a helmet. We don't need you conkin your head and losing the new memories you have been making."

I chuckled a little at the thought of Stephanie taking a beer break while mountain biking.

"Maybe it would be like in a cartoon. I will get my old memories back." I said more to myself.

"First of all I have been reading up on amnesia on the internet. That only works in cartoons. You will most likely cause more problems. Second of all, do you really want them back?"

"Of course I do." I answered, sort of surprised she would ask.

"Really? You know something bad happened. No one has been looking for you. My brother is crazy about you and you are crazy about him. Maybe sometimes it's best that some things kind of stay where they are supposed to be. In the past."

She had a point.

"Just because I got my memories back doesn't mean I would leave the life I have now." I responded.

"You should probably tell Bo that. He lives in fear since he found you that you are going to wake up one morning and remember you have some great love of your life and run back to him."

"He does not."

"Yeah Mary. He does. He is fallin for you like I ain't ever seen him fall for a girl. I'm bettin you feel the same way. Would you leave him, us, if your memories came back?"

"No. No, I wouldn't." I wasn't sure until I said it. But she was right. It probably didn't matter. I wouldn't want to leave him. I didn't know what was happening between us for sure. But I think it was something great. I wouldn't give that up.

"You should probably tell him that then. It sure would take a load off his mind."

I laughed a little. "Bo doesn't seem like anything bothers him."

"Don't let him fool you. It may not seem like it but that boy has a lot of thoughts going through his head constantly. Since he found you, the majority of those thoughts have been about you."

I nodded my head. She was right. I knew he was interested. This was more than feeling sorry for the girl with no memory. I saw the hunger in his eyes when he looked at me. I assumed he knew that I wanted him, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he was scared of me leaving and blocking him out of my life if my memory returned. It was time to set him straight. He needed to know that I wasn't going to give up on this anymore than he was.

Bo POV

"Hey Fred. Any word on my mystery lady?" I called Fred every other day half hoping for a lead on Mary's past and half hoping there wasn't one. More hoping there wasn't one. I felt kind of bad about that but I couldn't help myself.

"Sorry Bo. All I can do is check for flash notices every day. Nothing so far. If it hasn't happened by now, it probably won't. I don't have a clue where she came from but nobody is looking for her. Her fingerprints weren't in any database I have checked. At least we know she isn't a criminal."

"Nah, this girl doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She does curse a lot when she gets angry but I think that's more from hanging out with Steph."

"Well, I will let you know if I find anything. Don't get your hopes up."

My hopes were fine. They weren't based on anything to do with finding out about her past though. Mary hadn't brought up anything. She didn't check daily to see if any leads had come up. Honestly, I think I was making her happy here. I don't think she really cared. She was freaked out of course. Having your life erased would make anyone do that. But she wasn't nervous. She didn't seem to be. I was getting my hopes up that she was…happy? Maybe?

All I knew for sure was I was falling completely in love with her. And I was worried every day that I would wake up and she would be leaving.

"Hey there. What's got you thinking so hard?" Mary asked surprising the hell out of me. I never heard her walk up.

"I, uh, just got off the phone with Bronkowski. Still no word." I told her smiling.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop calling him all the time. Let it go. He will let us know if anything comes up. Leave it alone." She was looking at me strangely. I had never seen that look on her face.

"But Mary…"

"I don't care that much, Bo. I mean I would like to know if I have family, friends. It would be nice. But I want to be here with you. It doesn't matter what happens, or what I may or may not find out one day. I don't want to leave you. Whatever this is that we have, I want to keep it. No matter what. If you will have me."

"Mary, you don't know if you can mean that. Hell, you could have had a serious boyfriend. You could have been completely in love with someone." May as well lay my fears out on the table.

"It doesn't matter. I can't spend my life wondering about what was. That life is over. It was over the moment I saw you kneeling over me. I'm not going to miss what is right in front of me. I'm hanging around you as long as you let me, Bo. I'm not going anywhere." She was so close I could smell the body wash she uses in the shower.

"You mean it?"

She leaned in and closed her eyes. I wasn't missing this. I leaned down and finally felt her lips. They were as warm and soft as I thought they would be. I felt her lips part slightly and felt her tongue in my mouth. I returned the favor. We stood there kissing until our mouths ran dry. I had my arms wrapped around her. She had hers around my waist. She let me take the lead but she was kissing me with the same urgency I was feeling. Like if we stopped she would disappear.

I had kissed a lot of girls but never had a kiss like this. I knew. I knew it when I saw her and I knew it even more strongly now. She was the one. She was the adventure I was waiting for. I finally pulled back but I wouldn't let her out of my arms.

"Yeah. I mean it."

All I could do was smile. Wasn't much else to say that wouldn't fuck up the moment.

"Hey, that smaller gun you have? The one that goes in your hands? Why don't you show me how to shoot it?"

"I think I can do that. Better grab your ear plugs."

"Better catch me when I get knocked back on my ass. Don't forget to duck when I turn around." She winked.

This would be good. For the first time since I met her I wasn't afraid she would be taken away from me. I wouldn't let it happen. I had her and I was going to fight to keep her. Finally I had some one worth it.

Jake POV

"We should tell him Sam. Dad you know we should tell him."

"We can't Jake." Sam replied. Dad was quiet.

"When that damn red head busts into his house looking for Bella he is going to figure it out. Besides he is drinking. He is drinking a lot, Dad. You know he blames himself. Even more than the damn Cullens. He deserves to know that Bella left to protect him, not because of something he did."

Both Sam and Dad were quiet. I know Dad had been thinking about this. Charlie was drinking. When he wasn't at work trying to figure out where he could get a lead on Bella he was at home drinking. He thought he was a horrible father. Renee was yelling that to him on the phone every chance she got. She screamed at him on the phone last night. Asked him when he was going to plan the memorial service since he lost their daughter and she would never be found.

Renee wasn't doing well either from what Charlie told Dad. No one was doing well.

It wasn't hard to be pissed at Cullen. He didn't want her turned and left to protect her. I could respect that. But the way he did it was horrible. Then putting himself in a position where Bella had to go into a coven of vampires who would threaten her life if she didn't turn. Then telling her he wouldn't do it, despite what she went through for him. Add Victoria to the mix and Bella felt the only option was to run. The red headed leech didn't even know she had left. She thought we were hiding her. I really wish that were the case.

"Do you really think it would make him feel better Jake? You think it would make a difference?" Dad finally asked.

"Yeah. I do."

"Bella would be just as gone. Just as de…"

"Don't you fucking say it, Sam. We don't know that she is…she is alive out there. Somewhere she is alive."

"Jake you need to face facts. I'm sorry. You know how we all feel about her. But her truck. Her bags. Somebody took her Jake. I would bet it wasn't a vampire. It was probably a human monster. They are out there. Bella…she was so small…" Sam whispered.

I couldn't stay mad at him. All the pack had become close to Bella. Except maybe Leah but I think she would have come around. She was starting to anyway. But Sam saw her as the Pack's little sister. His little sister. It has hit him almost as hard as it has hit me.

All because she left to go save that worthless piece of shit. She didn't want anyone dying over her. He was already dead. That's what she never understood.

"He would know that it wasn't his fault that she left." I told Dad.

"No, Jake. It would probably make him drink more knowing that all this was going on and he didn't protect her from it. I have thought about this a lot Jake. He is my best friend. You think I want to see him hurting?"

"You sure this isn't about keeping our secrets Dad? Justifying our lies?"

Dad said nothing. There were tears in his eyes. Maybe I should lay off. I was just way too emotional right now. I needed to step back.

"I'm going for a run."

"There is no point Jake." Sam said without looking at me.

"No point in what Sam? I want to run."

"So you haven't been running farther and farther away trying to get a scent of her?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"What makes you think that Sam? You see that in my thoughts?"

"Did you see it in mine, Jake? Because I have been doing the same thing. She is gone. She isn't around this area. She is gone, Jake."

I ran out without a word. There was no point in discussing this any longer. They may have given up but I hadn't. Not yet. I would not accept her death as a forgone conclusion.

Bo POV

What a night. I couldn't hardly sleep. I walked out to the back porch and sat on the wooden bench. I stared at the stars and enjoyed the almost cool night. Soon the high temperatures and humidity would be back.

That was okay.

I planned to take Mary dancing tomorrow night. We would have fun. I would introduce her to my friends. Soon to be her friends.

She must have read my thoughts. The back door opened and I knew it wasn't Stephanie.

"For someone who gets up before dawn you don't get to bed very early."

She walked around and stood in front of me. She was wearing a long t shirt.

"Nice shirt." I smirked.

"It belongs to my boyfriend but I don't think he would mind."

"No, I definitely don't. So I'm your boyfriend, am I?"

"I hope so. I suppose I could slip you a note during work asking if you will be my boyfriend but I think I will go ahead and claim you now. That alright with you?"

"Your damn right it is. Why don't you have a seat? I got a lap that needs warming."

She sat across my legs and buried her head in my neck. Her hair smelt so good.

"Bo, I'm kind of concerned about something."

Shit.

"Okay…"

"Nothing bad. I was just thinking about maybe our future. I've seen your books. You have been getting more and more jobs. Soon you are going to have to hire someone to sand while you do the designs or you will never fill your orders."

"That's what you are worried about?"

"No. Shut up. I'm getting to that."

"Yes ma'am." I chuckled. Mary didn't hold back her thoughts.

"I figure you are going to need me doing books for a real live business in a few years, rather than the home business you keep now. You are going to have employees and stuff."

"So?"

"So I need to know what I am doing. I need more information. I know that Tyler Junior College has some accounting classes and small business classes I can take. I thought I could get some financial aid and take a few classes."

"Okay. Seems like a good idea. I mean if you want to." She was sticking around. She was planning our future. This was pretty damn great.

"But then I realized I have a problem. I can't get financial aid. I can't get a driver's license. I can't get anything. I have no ID. I am officially, legally nobody. I don't even know if I graduated high school."

Damn. I hadn't thought of that.

"What am I going to do?"

"Uh, we can just get married and you wouldn't have to worry about a thing?" I suggested wiggling my eyebrows.

"We just kissed tonight. I don't think we are quite to marriage, don't you think?"

"It was only a suggestion." I smiled.

"But you know even if you wanted to marry me one day you can't. What name would you put on the marriage license? I don't have a last name. I don't really have a first name. Just one you and Steph call me."

Damn. This was a concern.

"Hey, would you reach into my pocket and grab my phone?"

"Why don't you?" she smiled.

"I don't want to let you go."

"Yeah, I bet that's the reason you want my hand in your pocket."

She finally squeezed my phone out and I dialed my friend Teddy.

"What's up Bro? What's this I hear about you moving a brunette hottie in with you? Trying to push Steph out the door? Cause I got her a place to land if she needs it."

"You want to deal with her ex, Teddy?"

"Good point. Though I figure you taught him enough manners that he learned to behave."

"Guys like that, never learn to behave. They need their ass beat on a regular basis. Hey you still got the information on that guy, your cousin's girl used to get that fake ID?"

"Yeah. The shit was pricey but the guy does primo work man."

"You think he can do other documents?"

"Word I got is that son of a bitch can make something out of nothing. Supposedly he sells everything. Fake IDs are just the tip of the iceberg."

"I need to contact him."

"Whoa there, Bo. You can't just call this guy up. He doesn't do business over the phone. You have to go see him. Avery had to take his girl up to this guy's shack so he could take her photo and everything."

"Okay. Give me his address."

"Listen Bo. I know you are one of these guys that ain't scared of shit, so I won't bother to warn you. But you need to know, this guy is a little freaky." Teddy said.

"What? Like he has a bunch of tats and piercings or something? He ain't one of those folks that put a quarter size hole in his earlobe, is he?" That shit freaked me out. Like putting a hole in your nose with a piercing. What the hell do you do when you sneeze? Use one hand for your nose and place a finger of the other hand over the hole in the top of your nose? Blow snot like a whale? I guess I just don't get it.

"Not that I know of. He is pretty much a cowboy type. Least he dresses like one. Avery just said he only works at night. He is pretty fucking cold and pale and supposedly wears red contacts all the time. At least he did when Avery was there. His girl was pretty freaked out by the whole thing. Said a fake ID wasn't worth it. She stuck around anyway though. I mean she was already there, ya know?"

"Look, text me his address. Ask your cousin how much he thinks this guy charges."

"Take a couple thousand with you Bo. You need to borrow some money?"

"Nah, I'm good. I think I can handle it."

"Cool man. Let me know if there is anything I can do. Hey the gang wants to go dancing tomorrow night. You want to bring your girl and introduce her?"

"Yeah, except we need to get her a fake ID. She is 18. Need to read 21, you know?"

"So what? She can get in at 18. Your 22. Just buy the beer and let her drink yours."

"I tell you what. Hold the guys off till Thursday. I can get to this guy tomorrow and we can all party Thursday night. I will bring my girlfriend to meet you guys."

"Sounds good. Texting you the address now. It's just east of Houston. Have a fun drive."

"What's his name?"

"He goes by Peter Whitlock. Good luck figuring out his real name. Drive careful."

"Thank bro."

"Hey Bo? I'm glad, you know? I guess since you got her living with you that this must be kind of serious. You deserve it. I hope she isn't a bitch or has any venereal diseases."

"Thanks Teddy. You fucker."

I ended the call and looked at Mary. She was smiling.

"What was that all about?"

"We are getting you an identity. Ever been to Hou…nevermind. You wouldn't remember if you had, would you?"

She hit me in the shoulder and laughed.

"Shut up and kiss me cowboy."

She straddled my lap and my hands went straight to her ass. She didn't stop me. I guess it was all good. Then I felt her lips on mine and I knew it was all good.


	4. Chapter 4

Don't own it

A/N Interesting review from Owlsrawesome. But first big thanks goes to NeonDomino for catching the Bella in the last chapter. I have fixed it now. Also for telling me about control F. You are awesome. Owls you have a valid question. Does everyone in Texas own a gun and shoot things for fun. Okay. Big cities not so much. They can't exactly go to the nearest park and shoot skeet or beer bottles on a fence. But judging by the number of concealed carry permits in Texas I would say the number of people owning guns in the larger cities is extremely high.

Now where I come from and was raised, yep every family owned multiple guns and every male between the ages of 12 and 30, and quite a few females, shoot things for fun. Not animals mind you. Texans are very protective of wildlife and poachers are usually dealt with by land owners rather than game wardens. But yeah. My grandfather had a couple of dumps on his little hundred acres I grew up on. The dump was not trash. He had an old Chevelle that didn't run anymore, old washers, dryers, water heaters. Any junk metal he could find. He put it out there with the sole purpose of me and my friends having something to shoot at.

Now I'm not a gun guy actually. I have friends who are gun guys. I'm just not that interested in it. I have other hobbies. But, I have a shotgun by my bed, a Beretta 9 MM in a lock box in the living room dresser and a Glock 40, holstered under the driver' seat of my car. And I am a pretty good shot with all three. So are my 13 year old son and 15 year old daughter. My wife can't shoot water from a boat though. In small towns you are taught from a very young age about guns and to respect them. Not be afraid of them but to respect the power of the weapon. Hope that answers our question. If you have more send me a PM. I love to share stories about growing up in rural Texas.

Chapter 4

BPOV

"Bo, how damn long a drive is this?"

"About four hours. Your butt getting numb?"

"A little bit," I laughed.

"There is a barbecue place up the road we can stop at. Want to grab some food and we can hit the road again. Only got about an hour left."

"Nah, let's get there." I replied without thinking.

"Nah? Not No but Nah? Really Mary? I'm proud of you. You may learn to speak like a Texan yet."

I cringed. "I can't help it. Listen to you and your sister talk and even Hunter, I spend most of my time trying to decipher what you are talking about at first. But lately I have been understanding what the both of you are saying without having to think about it. It has me frightened that I am losing my good grammar."

"It's alright. Texans are kinda like the Borg. We bring you in and make you like us. Resistance is futile."

"Who the hell are the Borg?"

"Never mind." Bo laughed.

"You know this truck has a nice seatbelt here in the middle. If you wanted to scoot over and hold my hand I wouldn't throw you out the window."

"But…okay." I shrugged my shoulders. Why the hell not? I moved over to the middle of the bench seat and his hand instantly went to my thigh. Not in a sexual way. Just comfortable. Like it belonged there. It felt like it did. I placed my hand over his and we interlocked fingers.

This was a much better way to spend a long ride. I wish I had worn shorts though.

When Bo told me Houston I thought of skyscrapers and traffic and I don't know… the mark of a large City. I could kind of see one off in the distance. But the small dark road we pulled off on was definitely not in Houston.

"You sure it's out here? Looks like nobody could live here. The road isn't even paved!"

"It's out here. Guy like this probably has cameras in the trees so he can hide his stuff if a sheriff's car rolls down this road."

We pulled up to a rather nice, if small house. It was surrounded by oak trees. Hard to see especially at night if you didn't know what you were looking for. Bo pulled his shirt out of his jeans.

"Hand me that handgun from the glove compartment Mary."

"You are going to shoot him?!"

"No. Of course not. You have to be careful about guys that do illegal work in the middle of nowhere. They can be a bit jumpy. That makes me a bit jumpy. I feel a little better when I am jumpy if I have something that can make him jumpy. That's all."

I handed Bo the gun. He told me it was a 9 centimeter or something. He checked the safety and stuck it in the back of his jeans and placed his shirt over it.

"What if he sees it?"

"If I didn't have a gun on me he would think I was a cop. He knows I will have a gun. Only a dumbass would come out here without one. Don't worry though. It's just a precaution. But if I tell you to hit the floor, do it. Now let's go get you a life."

I got out on Bo's side and followed him to the door. Without knocking a beautiful barely dressed girl opened the door. She had a slim figure, long blond hair and huge cleavage that she wasn't afraid to show off apparently. She was wearing shorts that looked like they crawled into some very uncomfortable places and a mid-drift shirt that was three sizes too small for her. She was also pale. Paler than I was. Her eyes looked tired. Like she hadn't gotten enough sleep. Something about her made me uneasy besides the fact that she was dressed like a whore around my boyfriend. Her eyes were a weird color. Muddy brown, almost black. Didn't fit her hair at all.

"Can I help you folks?" Her voice sounded off. Weird. I guess Bo noticed too cause he pulled me closer to him and put me slightly behind him.

"Yes ma'am. I'm here to see if Peter Whitlock could do some work for me."

"Peter know you?"

"Ma'am from what I have heard about Peter Whitlock he don't exactly know everyone he does business with. You are more than welcome to check me. I ain't wearin a wire and I only got one gun on me. No, I ain't given it up. I got cash. If he can do the work, great. If he can't, I apologize for wasting your time and we will be on our way."

I'll be damned if she was going to check him for a wire.

"How do I know she ain't wearing a wire?" Shit. I needed to be tough here.

"Now…"Bo began.

"Seriously? Go ahead and look. But do you really think the police give a damn about your operation enough to get a wire in here? If they wanted they could just come raid the place with a search warrant."

That sounded good. Don't lose eye contact with the freaky girl Mary. Don't lose eye contact.

"Let them in Char. They are okay." A voice from the back came floating down the hall.

The woman stepped aside. "Right this way."

We followed her to the back. The house really was nice. I expected a rundown shack. Instead we walked into what looked like an office and photo studio. A strange looking man stood up and seemed to glide over. Like the girl he was…beautiful. Unnaturally beautiful. And just like we had been told, he had red eyes.

I was instantly nervous. Something about this guy made me want to run. It wasn't necessarily the red contacts. More the unnaturalness of him. Bo squeezed my hand and I could feel the tension rolling off of him.

"Now you guys are going to have to relax if we are going to do business." He laughed. We didn't.

"Of course. My name is Bo Walker, this is Mary."

"I'm guessing you ain't here for a fake ID to get your girlfriend in your 21 and older favorite dance hall."

"What makes you think that?"

"Cause I have seen those types. You two ain't like that. You are here for a little something more serious right?"

We both nodded.

"I need an identity." May as well get this out. I wanted to get out of here already.

"What did you do? Knock over a bank and now you need to take the blackbird trail to Old Mexico?" he smiled.

"She had amnesia. I mean she has amnesia. She has no recollection of her past. I found her on the side of the road a couple months ago. No ID. No nothing. We don't know who she is or where she came from. It's lookin more and more like we never will. But she can't do anything without an ID of some kind. So we need the works. Birth certificate, Social security card, driver's license, high school transcript. Anything else you can think of." Bo explained.

This Peter guy stared at us for a few seconds and then nodded his head.

"I'll take her picture and get the IDs ready pretty quick. Now getting her into the SS database and the DPS system is gonna take me longer. Probably morning. Hell I'll give her a good credit score just for the hell of it. Anything else you can think of?"

"Nope. I brought cash with me. Name your price and if I don't have enough on me I will get the rest in the morning when we pick up the documents."

Peter laughed. That couldn't be good.

"Son, this kind of thing I usually do for criminals. I charge about $50,000. This is complex stuff you are talking about. I am giving you actual documents. Not forgeries. When I am done she is going to be a real live identity."

Oh fuck.

"We should go, Bo." I whispered.

"No. I need to get a mortgage on the house. It will take me a couple days. How about I come back in two days to pick the documents up."

"Nah, don't sweat it. I'm doing it for free. Ya'll go home or get a hotel or something. It will be ready by 9 AM."

I looked at Bo and it seemed neither of us could believe what we just heard.

"Why are you doing this? Not that I am complaining but why?" Bo asked. I was kind of curious and kind of suspicious too. I didn't want to owed a guy like this favors. He really spooked me.

"Well like I said, most of the time, hell all of the time, I do this kind of work for my brother or criminals. Ya'll ain't neither. I can see your dilemma though. She needs an ID and you don't look poor kid but you don't look rich. You aint a crook. I know you ain't got $50,000 laying around. Plus you are willing to mortgage your house for a woman you found on the side of the road not long ago. I gotta respect that. Beside it would be nice to help someone for the right reasons. And I just know that I am supposed to."

"What do you mean, you just know?" I asked, more curious than afraid now.

"You may not believe in psychics and I ain't claiming to be one. But sometimes I know things. Things I am supposed to do or places I need to be. I don't always know the reasons why but I tend to follow my instinct. Something told me today that I needed to be here tonight to help someone who was…I guess you could say worth it. I don't know what that means but you two show up and I guess that is all I need to know. So what do you say we get your picture taken little lady and you pick a birthday and a name, and I will handle the rest."

Bo nodded his head. "Thank you."

"Hey no problem man. I'm a big believer in fate. Are you?"

Bo nodded his head.

"What about you Mary?"

"I don't remember if I was, but I have become a believer since I met Bo."

"Good. I like a good romance. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Makes Char warm and fuzzy too. That means I get to be warm and fuzzy with her more often."

Peter took me to the camera and snapped a few photos. I picked a birthday of July 4th. It would be coming up in a few months. I knew Bo would want to throw me a party even though it wouldn't be my real birthday. That was just the way he was. So if I picked a holiday it could double for a party.

"Okay. Question of the day. What do you want your last name to be?"

"I want to be Marianne Katherine…Dashwood." I had no idea where that came from. It just hit me. I was thinking Jones or Smith on the way up here but…Yeah Bo was looking at me with a weird face.

"Marianne Dashwood huh? You a big Jane Austen fan?" Peter asked, grinning.

"Jane Austen? I don't know."

"Marianne Dashwood is one of the characters from Sense and Sensibility. She was kind of bitch to those she didn't like and extremely loyal and loving to those she did. You must have loved that book to bring up that name from your subconscious. You won't ever get your memories back but the small things buried in our soul remain."

I looked at Bo, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't look at me Mary. I ain't read Jane Austen."

"What do you mean I won't ever get my memories back?" I asked suddenly realizing what Peter said.

He subtly shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes I know things. I know you won't ever get your memories back and I know that's not a bad thing. Enjoy your new life. Ya'll be back at 9 AM. I got work to do."

"So that was kind of strange." Bo mentioned as we left.

"Yeah. At first I really wanted to run from the guy but…"

"Yeah I know." It was strange. Almost like when he said I wouldn't ever get my memories back that was it. We believed him. I know I believed him. He had no way of knowing that. But still…strange.

"So where to now?" I asked him, afraid that we had a long drive home.

"Downtown Houston. I promised you a city and I am going to give you one. I got us a room downtown at the Hilton next to the convention center. You are going to love it. I thought we could walk around Downtown and enjoy the scenery."

That sounded really good. Wait. He got us a room? Of course he did. Don't be silly. Why wouldn't he? I'm 18. He is 22. It's not like we are kids. We are dating. But still. I didn't want to rush this. I mean I did but I didn't.

"If you are worried, I only planned to hold you tonight. I know you don't want to rush this and I don't either. I'm just glad you are mine. I wouldn't mind if you wore my T shirt and panties in bed though."

I felt a little relief and a little disappointment. I wanted him. I really, really wanted him. But I wanted it planned, I guess. Maybe not planned but not…fuck I don't know. He drove me crazy.

"Of course. I love your t shirts. They are my favorite night gown. Oh and thanks. For offering to mortgage your house. I wouldn't have let you do it but the offer was so sweet."

"You couldn't have stopped me." He winked.

"Yes I could. I could totally stop you."

"You say so Dashwood."

"Speaking of the name, do you think…"

"I know there is a Borders up ahead. Already on the way there. We pick you up some Austen and anything else that looks like it may catch your fancy."

"Thanks." I smiled. He knew me so well. At least the me that woke up from the side of the road. I suppose that's the only me that matters now.

"Besides now we know what kind of books to get you."

"We do?" I asked. I wasn't sure about that.

"Of course. If you like stuff like that book we will just find the oldest most boring romances available. You will probably eat that shit up."

"Eat that shit up?" I asked him laughing.

"Yeah I know. I got a way with words."

Charlie POV

"So that's it Charlie. That's everything. That's why Bella left. She left to protect you."

I can't believe this shit. I had just seen Jake turn into a big fucking wolf. I made him do it twice to be sure I wasn't seeing things.

Then he brings me in and tells me everything Bella has gone through since she moved here.

"I can't believe I didn't see this. I can't believe she didn't tell me."

"If I hadn't turned into a wolf just now, would you have believed a thing I said?"

I wouldn't have. I would have talked to Billy about getting the boy serious help.

"So if it was a big secret why are you telling me now? What is different now?"

"I told Sam I was taking my rightful place as Alpha of the Pack. My decision. The Elders don't like it. But you deserved to know Charlie. I wasn't going to stand by and let you beat yourself up over something that wasn't your fault."

As strange as this was, it answered so many questions. Why Bella acted the way she did when she went to Phoenix. Why she was so depressed afterward. Being left alone with that knowledge and no one to talk to. I still didn't understand what made her go after Cullen in Italy. But maybe I did. That was Bella. She would never want someone to die over her. Then he promised to turn her and told her he wouldn't the minute they got back. Said he could protect us. Like she would trust him.

Of course she ran.

Then it hit me.

"It doesn't change a fucking thing Jake. That wasn't a vampire that took her. She is still gone. Gone against her will. Taken by someone."

He was quiet. He knew this.

"I'm going to talk to the Cullens. You want to come?"

"Yeah. I think I better. This Victoria leech. We think she is gathering vampires to attack La push and Forks. She thinks Bella is still in hiding here. You are going to have to be careful Charlie. She could come after you instead to try to find Bella."

"Jake you honestly think I give a damn if I live or die. My baby girl is dead. I failed her. It's over."

"It's never over Charlie. Not till we know for sure."

"Yeah. It is. I don't even have a body to… she is in a ditch somewhere! A shallow fucking grave, Jake!"

Jake was quiet. He knew I was right.

We drove to the Cullens in silence. Carlisle was waiting at the front.

"Charlie…"

"Shut the fuck up Carlisle. Where the hell is that little shit?"

"He is inside." Carlisle stepped aside and Jake and I entered. We walked up the stairs to the main living room. I was familiar with this house due to the searches I had done.

"You." I glared at Edward.

"Charlie…"

"You should have left the moment you met her. You should have left the moment you saved her from that truck. Instead you played the hero and got her farther in."

"Charlie, she would have been raped in Port Angeles if it wasn't for Edward." The blonde, Rosalie said form the corner.

"She wouldn't have left her friends to go to that damn bookstore if she wasn't looking for information about you!" No one said a word. Not one of the bastards would look me in the eye. "Yeah, Jake told me everything she told him. I know everything. Edward Cullen you left her in the fucking woods with knowledge that no one should have to face alone!"

"I meant to protect her."

"By destroying her! She loved a fucking monster and you couldn't appreciate it! You destroyed her you fucker! Then she risks her life to save yours. You put her in a position that she felt she would have to run off in the middle of the night with no money and a truck that never ran for more than 4 days without breaking down. You could have held her off. You had already lied enough. You could have told me the truth. I would have hidden her. We would have gone into hiding together! You could have done a million things to handle this situation better. Instead you hurt her again after she risked her life to save you. You, a worthless piece of undead shit. Jake tells me you and your coven of blood sucking monsters are staying to deal with this red headed vampire who was intent on Bella's death. Good. I'm glad. I hope you kill her. Then I hope those Italian vampires find you and torture you slowly. I hope they keep you alive for years torturing you. Then you can all go to hell."

Not one of them said a word.

"How dare you Carlisle? You expose teenagers to these creatures all so you can work and have a normal life? You selfish fucking bastard. You think Bella is the only one who could find out? Jasper attacked her over a paper cut and you put him in a room full of teenagers. You know if he kills a kid he will never pay for it! Never! The family will never have closure. Trust me, I know what not having closure is like! I hope those Italians torture you all. I suppose I am in danger for knowing but I don't care. I really don't care anymore. I hope you all die. I hate you all. When this is over, with this red head, you had all better be gone or I will burn your house down. I will call the goddamn National Guard to try and kill you. My daughter is dead because of you! Every fucking one of you."

I turned around and stormed out, Jake right behind me. I reached the car and couldn't hold it in anymore. I cried. I wailed. I beat the dashboard. I didn't know what to do. There was nothing to do. It was over. The only damn good thing I had in my life was gone. I couldn't even visit her grave.

Bo POV

After spending hours at Borders and buying 14 paperback books we finally made it to the Hotel. We dropped our bag off in our room and went straight out. I took her to a steak house to eat downtown. Mary was amazed at the lights. The skyscrapers. The energy on the street. The shops, the restaurants. The theater district. I made a note to bring her back for an Opera or a play or something. If she was into really boring books she would love that. We ice skated outside the convention center. Mary couldn't skate very well. That was fine with me. She had to hold on to me while we skated. I go to brush frost off her ass when she fell or brought us both down. We walked until 2 AM. Around 2 AM the crowd started getting a little sketchy.

Finally back at the hotel room we got ready for bed. I set the alarm for 8. She came in wearing my shirt. She was so beautiful. She gave me that shy little smile of hers and climbed under the covers.

"Thanks for this Bo. Thanks for everything. I'm glad I have you."

"I'm glad you have me too. You would have broken your damn leg tonight ice skating if not for me. Maybe we should rethink this whole mountain biking thing this weekend."

"I'm not scared. I will never be scared of anything again. I'm mountain biking, and you are going to hold ice on every sprain I get." That's my girl.

You are the adventure I have waited my whole life for."

I figured she would ask what I meant. Instead she wrapped her bare legs around mine and lay her head on my chest. I told her goodnight and she lifted her head and kissed me gently. Then she lay back on my chest, pressing her bare legs to mine. I planned to wait till she fell asleep so I could hold her by putting my hands on her ass and bare back and avoid any awkwardness. Eventually she fell into a regular breathing pattern and I slid one hand across her back under her shirt and the other on her ass over her panties. She lightly laughed.

"Bad boy." She whispered, smiling.

"Want me to move my hands?"

She took a little breath, never opening her eyes.

"No. Just don't rub my back to much or squeeze my ass too much and I won't rub my lady parts against your legs and drive you wild. No teasing tonight."

"No problem." I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

"Hey Bo?"

"Yeah Mary?"

"I'm kind of completely in love with you. I know it's fast but I can't help it."

"I had to smile. It has been a couple months. Fast? I fell for her the moment I saw her. I know what she meant though.

"Yeah? I'm kind of completely in love with you."

I looked at her head on my chest. It was hard to see her face through her hair but I am pretty sure she was smiling.

I was going to stop worrying about her memories. She loved me. We loved each other. No matter what or who was in her past, nothing was going to change that. Another 6 to 8 months I would convince her to marry me. I was never letting her go.


	5. Chapter 5

Don't own it.

Sabrina wants a double update. Sabrina gets a double update. Glad you all seem to be sticking with me. It's a little slower than my normal stories but I am trying to build some things here. This won't be a short story. I don't think it will. So I want to take my time building some emotions. I will let you know a couple things. Yes it will be explained how Bella got to Texas and no there won't be any imprinting or anything like that. Stephanie will be around but she isn't a main point of the story so think of her a supporting cast member. One more thing. Bella will eventually be back to Forks for at least some amount of time in this story. But she won't stay there. Too damn cold and too much damn rain for Bo.

BPOV

"So where should I go, Steph?"

"Free clinic in Tyler off the loop and highway 64. If you and Bo would go ahead and get married he could get you on his insurance."

"I'm not jumping into marriage for medical insurance Steph. I just want birth control. It can't cost that much."

"Why don't you two at least stay in the same room?"

"Because…it's kind of sweet when he walks me to the door every night and kisses me." I smiled at the thought. "It's kind of like being…I don't know. Chased after? I want to wait till after we make love for the first time."

"Yeah well, the way you two were dancing the other night and the fact that you are looking into birth control makes me think the chase is about over."

"Yeah. That was a fun night." That was putting it mildly. I met his friends. The girls I met were so cool. They acted like they had known me forever. It was pretty neat to have friends my own age. We slow danced. He taught me to shoot pool. We drank. I found out I could get drunk from 4 beers. Then we went camping the next night and the whole weekend. It was so nice. Roasting marshmallows, fishing, even though I refused to bait my hook. Watching Bo play with Hunter. Laying out by the lake shore. Even Mountain biking was fun. I went slow. Bo went slow to let me keep up. His friends came and we hung out. Bo broke out his guitar.

I had seen it in a corner of his room. It was an electric guitar. I had never asked him if he played. I found out that night.

He didn't.

But he thought he did.

Maybe he didn't think that. It was cute. He basically strummed along making sounds that I imagined were like cats dying in a meat grinder. Every so often he would look up and ask if I can believe he was completely self-taught and never had a lesson.

His friends got in on the act. They sang. Loud. It was horrible. It was also funny as hell. Soon we were 10 friends sitting around a campfire making the most horrible music imaginable. Wendi let me know that Bo understood he couldn't play. He bought that guitar when he was 14 and it had become a running joke with his friends how bad he was. So like true friends instead of letting him know what a fool he was acting like, they acted like fools with him.

He put up the guitar and listened to the ribbing the guys gave him. He said he tried his best.

Troy told him that losers whine about giving it their best and winners go home and fuck the Prom Queen. This led to Bo and Troy wrestling by the shore into the water which led us to all jump in. I later found out that Troy's girlfriend Tina actually was the prom queen. You wouldn't know it from the way she acted. She was so grounded.

Now I couldn't wait any longer. I was getting those damn pills today. I had to spend yesterday morning watching him hand sand a dresser. He was taking his time running his hands over that wood and all I could think about was wanting to be the wood he was running his hands over. Minus the sand paper of course. He had four projects going on. A table, two dressers and the most beautiful bed I had ever seen.

"What if I can't remember how to have sex?"

"What? How the fuck do you forget how to have sex Mary? Hell even amnesia has its limits."

"I don't know. Maybe it will come back to me like cooking did. I just, I don't know. It's weird."

"No, what is weird is you telling me you are concerned you will forget sex moves when you screw my baby brother. That's weird."

"I'm out of here." I told her hurrying to the truck. I put in the address in the GPS in Bo's truck and was gone. Three hours later I was back.

"How did it go?" Steph asked, seeing my face.

"Maybe marrying for medical insurance isn't such a bad idea."

"Told you. Did you get what you wanted?"

"Yeah. I have to wait two weeks for them to take effect." That pissed me off.

"You need me to find you a chastity built or you got this?" I shot the finger at her and walked outside to the shed. I needed to check the computers to see if any more ordered had come in. It seemed like we had a waiting list. He was going to have to hire someone. I had begun helping sand. I actually enjoyed doing it. It was very soothing.

I didn't hear hammering or sawing. I heard a pounding noise though. I walked in and Bo was hitting the heavy bag he hung next to the weight machine. He decided since we were going to be going dancing on a regular basis, I needed to learn to fight, should the need arise. Apparently this is a pretty common occurrence in some of the establishments we frequented. He didn't turn around when I called his name. He was covered in sweat. He had been going at it for a while. I walked to the other side of the bag and held it for him. He stopped. He wasn't smiling. Bo was always smiling.

"What's wrong baby?" He looked concerned. I wasn't used to seeing him like this.

"You know Stephanie's husband is in prison right?"

"Yeah. She told me the story. Why? Did he get out?" That wouldn't be good. From what I understand he hit Stephanie and pulled a knife on her and Bo beat him within an inch of his life. The guy was in intensive care for a week. He was arrested when he got out for pulling a knife on Stephanie. He bonded out. A week later he was arrested for manufacturing crystal meth. He was supposed to be locked up another year before his parole hearing came up.

"No Mary. He ain't getting out. I just got a call from the detective who worked his case. The asshole got himself shanked in prison. Fucked with the wrong guy. Again. This time he didn't make it."

"Oh."

I really didn't know what to say.

"Yeah. I got to go tell Hunter that the dad he had, the asshole dad, but still his dad. I got to tell him he's dead. I got to tell Stephanie. I'm surprised that assholes momma hadn't been down here to tell her yet in person. Guess the whole family may be a might shy around me."

"I'm sorry Bo. I'm sorry you have to break this too him."

"Look just stay out here for a while. I got to tell Steph then we got to go pull Hunter from school. When we leave you can come back inside. I'm not sure how she is going to react. She may jump for joy or break down."

He turned to walk in, pulling his shirt on.

"No."

He turned around and looked at me.

"What do you mean no?"

"You said you loved me. I love you. You want us together then we are a team. You have to do it, I am going to be by your side." I walked up and grabbed his hand. We would do this together.

Bo POV

The funeral was horrible. His family was crying about what a great guy the violent dope head drug dealer was. Stephanie was taking it pretty well. I think she was still in shock that it was over. Hunter…Hunter was confused. He didn't know what to feel. A large part of him hated his father. But he was still his father. Meanwhile Mary stuck by mine and Steph's side. She even talked to Hunter quite a bit to take his mind off of things. She appointed him her linguistics coach to help her sound more like a Texan.

The reception after the funeral was worse. Dead asshole's family was getting tanked. Without a preacher and Church around they were getting a might loud. I recognized things could escalate pretty quickly and it was time to pull out. Assholes mom noticed us leaving and started yelling at Steph.

She approached Steph and slapped her. She called her a whore. She called her a slut. She said she wished she was dead. Before I could pull my sister away, Mary steps in front of Steph and hits asshole's mom. Hit her in the fucking mouth. Knocked the shit out of her. Her son came to his momma's defense and I hit him. His cousin hit me. Luckily my friends had accompanied me to the reception and jumped in. I looked up and Steph was pulling Hunter out of the hall. I saw Mary had a girl by the hair and was punching her in the nose and mouth. She really has gotten good at the heavy bag. Finally the Sheriff's deputies arrived and broke it up. After hearing 32 different sides they let us all go with the promise we would stay away from each other.

We all got in our trucks and my friends followed Mary, Steph, Hunter and me to our house. Mary was in the front seat. Her lip was bleeding a little.

"You okay?" I asked her, wiping a little blood off her lip.

"Yeah. Bitch got a lucky shot. You okay? Your eye looks a little bruised."

"Nah. No big deal. Caught a little glancing shot from the side."

Silence.

"Your tie is crooked."

"What?"

"Your tie is crooked. Let me straighten it." She repeated.

I leaned over and she actually straightened my tie.

"I'm going to take it off the moment we walk in. You know this right?"

"I don't care. I like it on you. While you have it on, I want it straight."

"Yes ma'am. How's your hand?"

"Hurts like a son of a bitch." She was smiling so I did too.

"Mary, that the first after funeral brawl you ever been in?" Steph asked from the back.

"I don't know. I would like to think so. Does that kind of thing happen a lot around here?"

"No. But it has been known to happen." I admitted.

"Hey Mary. You really kicked the dog mess out of Sheila." Hunter commented.

"Who was Shelia?" Mary asked.

"She is my cousin from that side. She was the sort chubby one you had your hand wrapped in her hair." Hunter explained.

"Oh that was Sheila. I didn't ask her name. Steph started hitting your grandmother so I grabbed the first girl I didn't know and started swinging."

"Don't you worry about it. You did good Mary." Stephanie patted her on the shoulder.

Mary was smiling. Now I just hoped her hand wasn't broke. If it was, she was marrying me tomorrow so I could get her on my insurance. She told me she wasn't feeling well the other day and went to the free clinic in Tyler. Like they were going to help. We arrived home and I went straight to the back deck and started the grill. Our friends came in behind us and the drinking started. Nothing like an after funeral party brawl to get the good times going.

Peter POV

"Did I just see the police break up a fight at a funeral?" Charlotte asked.

"Technically it was at the funeral after party. Not sure that really counts as the funeral. Seems to me if alcohol is involved all bets are off." I responded.

"No doubt about it, is there?" She whispered.

"Nope. You saw that bite same as I did. That's the girl Jasper told me the Cullens got themselves all torn up over. Who else would have that bite? I thought at first she was just doing a real good job of hiding but she didn't recognize me for what I am. She was even a bit afraid. She had a normal human reaction. She doesn't remember a thing."

"What are you going to do?"

"We aren't going to do a damn thing, except leave them the hell alone. We are going to stay the hell away from the Cullens though."

"What if Jasper needs us? What if the Volturi come after the Cullens even though they think she is dead?"

"Exactly. As long as they think she is dead, Aro will believe it. We go showing up and Edward sees inside our head, those bastard Italians won't stop looking for her. We are going to stay the hell away, no matter what. I am going to make it my mission that they never find that girl."

"Peter, what if Jasper needs us? We owe him."

"No, we don't Char. He saved you. I saved him. We don't owe him a damn thing. He may have been my commanding officer but the Wars are over. You are the only one I answer too now. Same goes for you."

"Still. You sure about this?"

"Charlotte, Jasper should have known better. They never should have brought a human into our world without the intention of turning her right away. You saw her with this Bo guy. She is happy. He offered to mortgage his house to get her what she needed. No good can come to her from meeting them again. They deserve to be miserable. She doesn't. She took a vampire bite because of those fuckers and they left her. She walked into the fucking Volturi and still they refused to change her. Jasper can go fuck himself. If Jasper finds out in a hundred years he can get pissed. We will see which one of us is the badass we both think we are. But for the rest of this girl's life we stay the fuck away from the Cullens. We watch. We do not interfere. She is going to have her chance. Fuck the Cullens."

Bo POV

It has been three weeks since the funeral. Mary still refuses to share a bed with me. I don't mind. I mean…yeah its bugging the hell out of me. I want her so bad I can't see straight. Our bed is done. She didn't know it was for us. Steph is moving into my room and me and Mary are taking the master bedroom.

I had kissed her good night and left her watching television with Hunter. Her birthday was coming up. Fourth of July. I had planned to show her the bed on her birthday but I had also hoped we would be living in the same room by then.

I had almost gotten asleep when I heard her soft knock on my door.

I opened it and there she was. Wearing one of my t shirts.

"Hey." I whispered.

"Hey yourself. I really wanted to wait for my birthday but…I can't stand it anymore. I had to wait two weeks for the birth control to take affect but I figured I may as well wait another week. But I can't. I have to have you. I have to have you now."

She didn't need to say anything else. My lips were on hers and they were only coming off to explore some other part of her body. She was so warm. I kicked off my shorts and for the first time she saw me completely naked.

"Holy damn."

"What?"

"Are you sure that is going to…fit?"

"We are going to figure out some way." I laughed.

She raised her arms and I lifted her shirt off of her. Damn she was gorgeous. She lay on her back. Her pink nipples were like small pebbles. I ran my teeth over them and she gasped.

"Bo…Stephanie took Hunter to get ice cream. She is keeping him out for a while maybe catching a late movie or something."

"Hmmm gvvs ah shhht?"

"What?"

I took my mouth off the breast I had been waiting to suck since I met her.

"Who gives a shit?" I may have been a little impatient.

"I only told you so you would know we can be as loud as we want."

Oh. That's good information to have.

"Sweet. Now raise your hips and let me get these panties off before I rip them off with my teeth."

She laughed and then moaned when I ran my tongue up her leg straight to her pussy. She had the thinnest strip of hair over her pussy. I spread her lips and tasted every single centimeter of her with my tongue. I found her clit and nibbled trying not to bite down to hard. I was proud I had this much self-control considering for months I wanted to bend her over her desk and pound her.

She was moaning and thrashing all over the bed. I kept her pelvis pinned with my mouth. I grabbed her breasts. She was running her hands in my hair. We continued like this for I don't know how long before I felt her cum. Her whole little body vibrated. I raised up and looked at her sweating face.

"Bo, I am so wet…you want me to…"

"You know, normally I would say yes 99% of the time, but not this time. Right now I want inside you baby."

"Okay baby. Whatever you want. I'm yours."

"I love you Mary."

"I love you so much Bo. I'm ready. Make love to me."

I positioned myself on top of her and entered her warm folds. Man was she tight and hot. So slick but so tight. I realized she hadn't probably had sex in a long time. But man was she tight.

Her belly was heaving underneath me.

"You okay?"

"Yes. Can't you get farther in?"

"Yeah. I mean I'm barely in. But baby you are tight. Are you sure you are okay?"

"Bo shut up and do it. I want you in me and I want you fucking now!" she damn near growled.

I shrugged my shoulders. I was too far gone to stop now anyway. I pushed inside her slowly and felt her relaxing and opening up. Then…what the fuck?

"Mary…"

"Bo just push. I know it's been a while and you can be sweet and gentle later but I need this now."

"Okay…"

I slammed my hips into her and she…

"HOLY HELL DAMN MOTHERFUCKER WHAT WAS THAT?"

I almost moved out of her but she grabbed my arms.

"Don't you dare move. Just stay right where you are."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I…yeah, I feel better now. Do I feel all right to you?"

She was actually worried about this? I raised up on my elbows still over her body, still inside her. She was flushed. Her chest was heaving. She had this look between pleasure and pain on her face.

"You feel…yeah. You are good. You are great. Don't worry about things on this end baby. I got it covered. Let's worry about you?"

"Am I too tight for you?"

"Sweetie that is something you never have to ask a guy."

She laughed a little. "Okay. It's starting to feel good again. Move slowly."

I did as I was told. God she was wet. She was bucking her hips into me so I went a little harder. Finally she slammed my hips and I took that as the all clear sign.

"Bo, kiss me. I think I am about to have another of those orgasms again. Damn they feel good."

I opened her mouth and drove my tongue inside. She was meeting me with hers. I felt her body shiver again.

"Right there. Right there. Yes…" Mary was a screamer. I liked it. I couldn't hold back anymore and came inside her. She said she was on the pill right? At this moment I didn't give a damn.

"Oh God that is so hot. Fill me up baby."

I collapsed on top of her. Feeling her body underneath me. Being inside her. Her chest was still heaving and her breast were pushing in my chest. I pulled out and leaned up a little so I wouldn't crush her. Her hair was slick with sweat. Her face was flushed. She looked so damn beautiful.

"I love you Marianne."

"I love you too Bo."

We passed out with me on top of her. At some point in the night we had wound up spooning each other. We woke at the same time.

"Mornin beautiful."

"Mornin baby. How did you…sleep?"

"Better than I have in my whole life. You?"

"Best sleep I can recall." She said laughing.

"You want to take a shower with me? We are supposed to meet everyone at the lake at noon."

"Yeah. A shower would be nice." She whispered.

I threw the sheets off of us.

"Holy shit! What the hell? Are you okay?"

There was blood on the sheets. There was blood on me. Not much but still.

"I'm fine. If that is me, I'm not bleeding now. Sore as hell but not bleeding." Mary looked worried.

"Oh my God." She gasped.

"What?" I hoped she wasn't bleeding anymore.

"I must have been…"

"What?"

"I must have been a virgin."

We were both quiet at that revelation.

"So…I guess I don't have to worry you had an old boyfriend huh?" I smiled. This was a pretty cool development.

"You never had to worry in the first place. But yeah, I guess you are my first. No wonder I was so tight and am so damn sore this morning."

"Want to take a bath instead of a shower?"

"Yeah. That would definitely be good."

"So I'm your first huh?" I couldn't stop smiling.

"Don't let it go to your head." She winked at me.

"That's impossible." I told her honestly.

"Fine. I guess it can go to your head a little."

"Oh by the way Mary, that bed I made in the shed? That's ours. Steph is moving into this room. The master bedroom is ours. Happy birthday."

She was quiet for a moment. If she thought after last night she was sleeping alone she was crazy. Then I saw her shoulders shaking a little. I heard her sniffle. She was crying.

"Mary…"

She turned around and ran into my arms.

She leaned up and whispered into my ear. "I don't know what brought me here. I don't want to know. But I would go through it all again if it meant I get you. I love you so much."

Charlie POV

It has been 6 months. She is dead. I know she is dead. It breaks my heart but I know it. I won't stop hoping. But I had nothing. The Cullens were still here. I guess the vampire army hadn't attacked yet but Jake hadn't been around as much. I really didn't give a damn. I hoped they did what they could because I didn't want innocent people to die. Enough innocent people had died because of this shit.

The phone on my desk rang. I really didn't want to deal with anybody's problems but my job was all I had left.

I picked up the phone.

"Chief Swan."

"Chief, my name is Albert Tunney. I am a special agent with the FBI, New York Bureau."

"What can I do for you Agent Tunney?"

"We have recently apprehended a serial rapist. We caught him kidnapping a girl beside a broke down vehicle. He has been crossing the country from one coast to the other raping women. We believe he would see them at a gas station and sabotage their cars when they went inside. Follow them, take them at gun point when their vehicles broke down. Usually cut a fuel line. He would carry them to another state. Sometimes several states away. Rape them and leave them on the side of the road."

He had my attention. Please God don't tell me this monster got his hands on my baby.

"Okay."

"Chief he is confessing everything. We caught him red handed. Here is the deal. He would sometimes steal license plates to throw authorities off of identifying the victims too quickly. He would occasionally burn the vehicles."

"So you are telling me this because…" My stomach fell. I wanted to vomit.

"We found your daughters license plates in his trunk."

I tried to talk but couldn't.

"Chief Swan? Are you still there?"

"He…killed my baby, Agent? Is that what you are telling me? I need you to tell me where he is Agent. If you have kids you will understand."

"Hold up Chief Swan. He confessed to taking her when we showed him her picture. He told us he traveled with her for a couple days tied up in his car. Sometimes in the trunk, sometimes in the backseat. He finally pulled over somewhere and tried to rape her. He says she fought and damn near killed him. He remembers her because she was the only one who ever fought him off. He says a scar under his right eye was from her. Supposedly she kept saying something about surviving vampires and not giving in to him. He was high as a kite so I'm sure that accounts for the bullshit. He claims he hit her over the head with a lead pipe he kept in the car and dragged her into the woods. He was going to rape her there but people were driving by and he had to leave."

"He hit my baby with a lead pipe and left her dead in the woods?" I whispered. I would kill him and then kill myself. If my death is what it took that was fine. That fucker was dead though.

"Here is the thing Chief. He has never killed a victim. No bodies belonging to your daughter have been discovered. If she was just left for dead then a body would have turned up eventually. He swears she was breathing when he ran because he doesn't rape dead women. I think he is possibly telling the truth. He hasn't lied to us yet. She could be alive."

"Then where is she Agent? Where did he leave my baby? It's been over 6 months!"

"He doesn't remember. He stayed high most of the time when he was committing his crimes. He drove without purpose. He knows there were a lot of pine trees. It was in the southern US. That's all he knows."

"I'm coming to speak to him, Agent Tunney."

"I understand Chief. I knew you would. Come interview him. But Chief…I'm sorry but I can't let you kill him. A lot of women got raped by him. We aren't sure if he actually killed any or not. We need him alive for now Chief. You can't kill him. Not…"

"Not what Agent?"

"Not yet. I got daughters as well, Chief Swan. Just not yet."

I took a deep breath. I could do this. But one day his ass was mine. Right now I needed to talk to him. I needed to figure out where he left her. Did someone else get her? An animal drag her unconscious body off? What happened? At least I had a lead. I knew the why, now I knew the how. I just needed to find the where.

"I will be on a flight to New York tonight, Agent."

"I will pick you up at the airport Chief Swan."


	6. Chapter 6

Don't own it.

Okay. One more hint cause I don't want ya'll worryin about this in reviews. When I write Bella with an OC, she stays human. I am not one who believes the end product of every story is Bella turning into a vampire. That said let's check in on our other characters while Bella and Bo celebrate her new found status as a non virgin.

Chapter 6

Charlie POV

"Chief Swan, you mind if you leave your gun out here?" Agent Tunney asked me.

I nodded. I said I wouldn't kill the guy yet. I would have my chance.

I walked into the room where Reggie Cobb sat at a plain brown table tapping on the surface. He smiled at me. He had yellow, crooked teeth.

He was skinny. About 6'2, maybe 150 pounds. 30 years old according to Agent Tunney. Dirty blonde long shaggy hair. Crooked smile. I was being watched by 6 FBI agents on the other side of the glass. They didn't have to let me do this. But I could do what they couldn't. If all of them happened to take a coffee break at the same time and Mr. Cobb fell out of his chair, those were the breaks of life. So far Mr. Cobb had confessed to 80 rapes. He wasn't worried. He figured as long as they didn't prove he killed any of them, he couldn't get the death penalty.

He was right. Legally he couldn't get the death penalty.

"Good afternoon Agent. Or is it morning? Or dark? I seemed to have lost track of time while sitting here, reliving the glory days."

"I'm not an agent."

"Then who might you be?"

"I'm the guy they send in to castrate rapists."

That caught his attention.

"I doubt that is a standard practice of the FBI." He said, finding his smile again.

"I told you I am not an agent."

"What are you then?"

"A father. You touched my baby."

"I've touched a lot of Daddy's babies. You are going to have to be more specific."

"Maybe. But this is the one that is going to be the end of you. The one that got away."

"Oh. Yes. The police chief's daughter. My congratulations, Chief Swan. She was a particularly fine piece of ass. You and your wife did well."

I looked at the observation window and nodded. The recording light in the corner of the wall went from green to red. Guess it was time for a FBI coffee break.

I stood up and pulled the Taser from my pocket. He stood up. He wasn't handcuffed to the chair. I didn't want him to be. He stuck his hands out and I brushed them aside and grabbed his throat.

"Keep your seat boy."

He sat back in the seat and I kicked his legs apart. I stuck the Taser in his balls and fired.

He would never rape another woman.

The screams were loud. Music to my ears.

"Like I said. Electrical castration. Want to do it again?"

"Please no." he whimpered.

"Good choice. Let's talk about my daughter."

"I don't remember much."

"You had her for what? Two? Three days? You remember plenty. You are going to tell me everything. If at any point I think you are lying or holding back I am sticking this Taser up your ass next."

"What do you want to know?" he whispered. Not much of a tough guy when he isn't beating on and raping small girls.

"Let's start with how you saw her."

"She stopped at a gas station in Indiana. She was distracted. She looked worried. She was alone. Her truck looked like it would break down any second. She put the gas pump into her truck and walked inside. I slid under and her truck and cut the fuel line. I waited. I followed her when she left. She ran out of gas twenty miles down the road."

"Go on."

"I pulled up behind her and pulled my gun on her. She was scared. She was angry too. I wasn't used to seeing that. She was a fighter. I walked her over to my car and chloroformed her. Threw her in the trunk, took the license plates, lit the truck on fire and I drove off."

"Okay. What happened next?"

"I took some uppers and hit the road. I drove southeast. I didn't have a specific direction. I figured I would starve her a couple days and then fuck the hell out of her and leave her. Simple. I stopped a few times and tied her up and let her ride in the back. She just lay there not saying anything. Finally she started cursing at me so I put her back in the trunk."

I clenched my fists. I looked up and saw that the green light was back on.

"Next."

"What? I drove. It's what I did. I got tired of waiting. I ran out of pills. I pulled over on the side of the road and pulled her out of the trunk. I tried to fuck her. She kicked me. She clawed me. She gave me a scar. She was screaming about surviving fucking vampires and how she wasn't going to be killed by me. Just between you and me, I think the girl had some emotional problems." He chuckled. He's a psychopath. Why am I surprised? Of course he is.

I gripped my chair. Not until you find out what you want to know, Charlie.

"Next." I gritted out between my teeth.

"I was bleeding. She hurt me. I took a small lead pipe, I kept in the glove compartment and hit her over her head. I dragged her skinny ass out into the woods. I got ready to pull her jeans down when some cars came driving by. I got scared. I left her and drove off. That's it."

"Where…were…you?"

"I don't know Daddy. I had been driving for 72 hours straight. I know I was in Texas somewhere. Or maybe Oklahoma. Could have been Northern Louisiana. I am pretty sure it was Texas though."

"North Texas?"

"I don't know."

"East Texas?"

"I don't know!"

"What sort of woods did you leave her in?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"What sort of trees were there?"

"Fuck if I know. I'm no tree doctor."

"Think real hard." I lifted the Taser and fired it, letting him see the little thin arc of electricity that would soon be roasting his tiny chestnuts.

"Look man, it smelled like an air freshener out there. I remember that."

"Air freshener?"

"Yeah like those little tree things you hang on the mirror?"

"Pine?"

"Yeah! Pine trees! That's what it was."

What city did you stop in next?"

"I'm not sure. I remember driving through Shreveport but I couldn't tell you how long it was since I dropped her. I was really in the mood though. I would have gone back and gotten her ass. Fucked her up real good. But I couldn't remember where I left her. I found a girl in Louisiana on the other side of Shreveport shortly after that. You want to hear about her? I fucked the hell out of her." Sick fucker was smiling again.

"She just curled up and cried while I nailed her from behind. Your daughter would have eventually too. They all cry eventually."

I looked at the corner and saw the red light was on again. I decided I had all I was going to get from him.

"You realize you are going to die right?"

"You can't get the death penalty for rape." He looked scared though.

"No. The government can't punish you like that. But I have friends. It may be me waiting for you when you are transferred between prisons. You may have a failed escape attempt. You may be sleeping in your cell when two guys I pay in cigarettes rape you to death. Either way you will die. I promise you, that you will not suffer long in prison. You are officially on death row as of right now. Only there won't be any appeals. There won't be any delays that last years. There won't be any re trials. Just know that when you die, whether you are getting gang raped and strangled in prison or dying in the dirt from a gunshot wound to your stomach burning your guts up, it will be me that caused your death."

I stood up and walked towards him. He didn't move this time. He just whimpered.

"What did you say? They all cry eventually? Let's see how long it takes you to cry."

I electrocuted his testicles till he couldn't cry anymore. When smoke started rising from his jeans, I stopped. He finally vomited on the floor and passed out. I walked out of the room and saw Agent Tunney there.

"Have a nice coffee break?"

"Yeah. Have a nice chat?" he smiled.

"Nope. I was never here. I would have had to be here to have a chat with someone."

"That's true. It was nice not meeting you Chief Swan."

"Nice not meeting you Agent Tunney."

"If you need help on your search, you let me know." He handed me his card with a number written on the back.

"Thanks." I nodded.

"Start in East Texas."

"What? Do you know something?"

"No. I don't know anything that you don't. But I served some time in the Dallas office. East Texas pines. Starts around the Kilgore, Tyler and continues to Huntsville, kind of the whole border of East Texas next to Louisiana. A lot of pine trees, a lot of territory. A lot of small towns. But it's the only place I can imagine he would have dropped her. Start with the local PDs in the big cities. Dallas, Fort Worth, Tyler, Huntsville, Nacogdoches. Pass her picture around. Somebody has seen her Charlie. She sounds like a fighter. She isn't dead."

I nodded. He was right. It was time I stopped acting like she was dead.

"Thank you, Albert."

"Don't thank me. We never met and you were never here."

Jake POV

We stood in the clearing, waiting for the Cullens to strike first. We could hear the footsteps of the oncoming vampires. We were tense but ready. The Cullens were in the clearing. We saw them rush the newborns. Must have been twenty newborns. We attacked.

The newborns fought hard. But we didn't see the one we were after. Not until Edward Cullen left. He took off like a bolt of lightning running away from the battle. I thought he was running away at first because he was scared but then I remembered. He wanted to die. Sam and Leah took down the last newborn. I ran after Cullen. I heard Emmett Cullen following behind me. We came up to a cliff face and saw him. Victoria and another male vampire had his arms pinned behind his back.

Fuck no.

He didn't get off that easy.

I took the red head and Emmett took the male. Edward screamed at us. Victoria fought well. She was fast, she was strong. She was vicious.

She was no fucking match for me.

I couldn't save Bella from these creatures ruining her life. But I could do this. I tore the bitch to shreds. I phased human to burn the bitch and saw Emmett Cullen walking up with body parts. Edward was still lying on the ground. Looked like he was crying.

"Why? Why didn't you let her kill me?" He yelled at me.

"You fucking coward. You pathetic boy." I whispered.

"You should want me dead!"

"No! If I thought she was alive, I would have let that bitch kill you and you would be burning beside her. But she is dead. So you don't get to go where she is. I'm not taking the chance that you might slip into Heaven. Not like that. Not that easy. You are going to live with what you did to her!"

"Edward. Alice texted me. We have to go. The Volturi are here. Not Aro. Just the guard. They want to speak to you." Emmett said quietly from the side. Edward had a gleam in his eyes. He ran off.

"Don't let them kill him, Emmett."

"Don't worry Jake. I won't."

Emmett Cullen was gone. I needed to check on my pack.

I ran back and saw everyone in the tree line watching. I looked and saw four strange robed vampires talking to the Cullens. Edward tried to attack the big one. He was stopped by Emmett and Jasper. Then he dropped on the ground rolling in pain. I thought at first he was being a drama queen but saw Esme was begging the little girl to stop. I looked at Sam who nodded. Vampire power.

These were the Italian leeches that had Bella in their hands?

I felt tears in my eyes. Poor Bella. Why did you have to be so fucking stupid? Why couldn't you ever see he wasn't worth it? A fucking coward. He didn't deserve you. Why didn't you come to me? Why run Bella? I could have protected you. All of us. Every member of the pack would have protected you.

It wasn't enough. She thought she had to leave to protect us. We left when they did. I walked into my house and saw Dad on the phone.

"I will let him know, Charlie. Yes, he will be there. Good luck friend. I hope the Spirits bless your journey and you bring her back home to us."

Dad hung up and turned towards me.

"Everyone safe?"

"Yes. We won."

"Good. Sit down."

I remained standing.

"Charlie okay, Dad?"

"Jake sit down. Charlie found some things out. He found out what happened to Bella. He spoke to the…man…who took her."

I think my heart just stopped.

"So someone did take her." I whispered. I mean I knew it…but Charlie talked to him?

"Jake sit down son. This is going to be a lot to take but you need to know. Then you need to go to Sea Tac. Charlie has a plane ticket waiting for you. You are going to Dallas, Texas. You are going to help him find Bella."

"He thinks Bella is alive?"

"There is a good possibility. The man who took her was a…rapist. But Charlie says he didn't get to rape her. Supposedly this guy knocked her out and left her on the side of the road somewhere between Dallas Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana."

"Why hasn't any one found her?" I whispered. Rapist? Oh God…only Bella.

"He doesn't know son. But he needs your help searching. I would go but I would only slow him down."

"Of course Dad. Tell me everything while I pack."

Could it be possible? It was better than nothing. I would say nothing. To anyone. I couldn't take the chance of the Cullens finding out she might be alive. I couldn't take the chance of one of the Pack being close enough to let him.

I picked up the phone.

"Sam?"

"Jake."

"I have to go away for a while. I don't know how long. A few weeks maybe. Maybe longer. Sam I can't tell you why."

"Jake we just defeated one army but you saw those Italians. We have no way of knowing if they are going to be back. What the fuck is so important that you have to leave now?"

"Sam…as a Pack brother, I need you to trust me. I can't tell you. If the Cullens were gone…"

"My thoughts aren't safe." He said, understanding.

"No. I have to leave."

"Does this have to do…nevermind. I don't want to know. I will call you when they are gone. Will you tell me then?"

"Yes. And don't ask Dad. He knows. Sam, it's important."

"I understand, Jake. Do what it is you have to do. I will be here to make sure the Cullens leave."

I ended the call while packing my bag.

"What time does my flight leave?"

"Five hours son. Sue is giving you a ride. She doesn't trust your Rabbit to make it. She just doesn't want any chances taken that you might miss your flight. Bring her home, son."

I nodded my head and ran to Sue's house, bag in hand. She was already in the car.

The odds of Bella surviving an attack by a serial rapist and being left on the side of the road with a head injury were slim. But she always beat the odds. She probably woke up and decided to keep hiding. That's why she didn't contact us.

Wherever she was though, she had to be miserable. Alone. Scared. The thought broke my heart.

BPOV

"Oh fuck yes, right there Bo!"

I was currently bent over my desk in the shed. His hands were wrapped around my waist nearly touching each other. For a while I was so tight it hurt a little every time we made love. But we had…molded to each other, I guess you could say.

"Play with my…Oh yes there it is…." I whispered when his right hand left my waist and went straight for my clit. Oh good lord I love sex. I can't believe I waited so long for this. I'm glad I did though. I was horrible at first at giving him a blowjob. I guess I had never done that before either. But I got better. My girlfriends gave me tips. This was worth it though. I don't know what I felt before but I felt so complete when he was in me, touching me. I got hit by an orgasm out of nowhere when he pinched my clit and hit my favorite spot at the same time. I guess it was too much for him and he came too. Damn that was going to be a mess. I just showered, to get ready for the day and he ambushes me at the work place.

"Mary you…I'm sorry. You walked out and the sun hit your hair and your waist was swiveling in those low cut jeans and I just kinda lost it."

"Don't you ever apologize for that." I whispered, kissing him while pulling up my jeans. I sat down at my desk and tried to organize the order forms and bills that we had just knocked all over the place. Bo was about to start the power drill. I was going to put my ear plugs in because I can't stand that whiny screeching noise it makes when I heard it. A knock at the door. Steph was at work and Hunter was staying with a friend.

"Bo, you hear that?"

"Yeah. Let me go check it out. Probably one of our idiot friends. We ought to start hanging out with a higher class of people, ya know?"

He was smiling. We both loved our friends. They were like family to him and were quickly becoming family to me.

I followed him around the front to see Fred Bronkowski standing at our door. My heart stopped.

I was actually afraid he may have found something. It was unreasonable of course but things were going so well. I didn't need this or want this now. If anybody was looking for me they would have seen my face and fingerprints on the missing person's database a long time ago. Fred told me so.

Bo tensed up too.

"Mornin Fred."

"Bo! Mary!"

"Hi Fred."

"I probably don't want to know how you got that ID do I?" Fred smiled.

"Nope." I replied smiling back.

"Well you two seem happy. When I saw Bo with you in the hospital I knew you two were made for each other."

"What can we do for you Fred?" Bo asked. He was smiling but it wasn't real. I walked up and wrapped my arm around his waist. I hated seeing him tense.

"I actually just came to let you know that I am retiring. Tomorrow is my last day. Movin to San Marcus. Got a teaching job up there at Texas State and its closer to my kids."

"Congratulations." I told him.

"You came out here to invite us to your retirement party Fred?" Bo laughed. It still didn't sound genuine.

"No. I actually wanted to know if your Mary here wanted to take some fresh photos and fingerprints for the database? Since it has been a while the case is going to be closed. I thought maybe she might want to give it one more try. Maybe the fingerprints smudged or we can try a face that didn't just come out of the woods and see if the facial recognition software may pick up something new."

Bo looked down at me but I already knew the answer.

"No." I told him.

"No?"

"No. I'm happy. You really think the picture or the fingerprints was the problem?"

Fred took a deep breath.

"No. I thought for sure when Bo found you that we would have your identity cleared up in no time. I gave your picture and prints to the technician that day and just sat back and waited for a hit. Nothing ever came up. I thought for sure it would."

"It wasn't your fault Fred. I don't care who I was. I'm happy with who I am. Let's just leave it alone." I told him.

"Okay Mary. Bo, you are a lucky guy. You make an honest woman out of her."

Bo nodded. "I plan to do just that. You send me you address and you will get an invite to the wedding. You were there when this started. It's only right that you are there when we get married Fred."

Fred nodded his head, shook Bo's hand, hugged me, and drove off.

I turned to Bo who was finally smiling a genuine smile.

"It's over. Actually over. You don't have to worry anymore."

"I wasn't worried." Sure he wasn't.

"Now what is this about a wedding?" I asked. We hadn't really talked about it. I figured he would bring it up when he was ready. Honestly I thought of us as a married couple already. A ring didn't matter.

I mean it would be nice.

But it wasn't important.

Yeah. It kind of was.

I mean I slept with him, I washed his clothes, I did his books. Hell, I even helped him sand his furniture and deliver it.

He better be planning on marrying me.

It was important.

"Well, come inside. I got something to show you." He grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

"I wanted to do this at a fancy restaurant or maybe the Rose Gardens in Tyler. But since you brought it up."

He pulled a box out of the cabinet. His cabinet. Where he kept all his junk.

"Bo, did you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"When?" I asked, my breath catching a little in my chest.

"About three months ago."

"You've had it for three months?"

"I was waiting for the right time. But since you brought it up, you think you can be quiet long enough for me to get on one knee and ask you proper like?"

I was already tearing up. This was going to be bad. I would be babbling.

"What makes you think I will say yes?"

"I don't know. I guess I will just have to take a chance won't I?"

He got on one knee and opened the box. Oh my God it was beautiful.

"Marianne, will you marry me?"

I was crying. I couldn't help it.

"Y.y. ."

He slipped the ring on my finger.

"We aren't getting any work done today are we?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hell no. We are going to make love all afternoon then we have a party to plan tonight."

"A party?"

"Hell yeah. An engagement party. You call everybody and I will be in bed getting naked."

"Why do I have to call everybody?" That didn't seem right.

"They like you better. Tell you what, I'll call my boys and you call your girls."

"We really need to get some work done today." I reminded him. I felt I should remind him. It was the responsible thing to do.

"Yeah. You go run that power drill and I am going to be in the bedroom waiting on you when you are done."

"Fine. Let me make the calls."

I woke up the next morning with my legs on the bed and my face an inch from the floor. My head was killing me. I dragged the rest of my body up on the bed. I realized I was completely butt naked and was very glad the door to our room was closed. I saw a gleam on my hand and looked at my ring. A single solitary setting on a gold band. It was so beautiful. And big. I think I liked big. What the hell happened last night?

Bo was snoring. My panties were wrapped around his head. One of his arms was tied to the bed post with my red bra. My head felt…oh God, my head felt horrible. He had lip stick around his…I ran to the bathroom and was relieved to see it was the same shade I had on.

I threw on a pair of shorts and a t shirt. I thought about taking my bra from around Bo's arm but he looked so cute lying there. I did take a picture of him on the I phone he got me. Just from the waist up. That was going on the greeting table at our wedding reception.

I walked into the living room on my way to the kitchen to grab Tylenol. I needed Tylenol and water. Lots and lots of water. Then I would puke and drink more water. I didn't drink a lot of alcohol. But I had been known to pray to the porcelain god on occasion. Usually with Bo holding my hair and laughing his ass off while I swore never to drink alcohol again.

Holy shit.

It looked like a massacre without the blood. Bodies everywhere. Tina was laid out on the coffee table in her bra and panties. Troy was laid out on the floor next to her. He was in boxers and had a poker dealers visor on with a card stuck in the band. Beer bottles were everywhere. Steph was on the couch with Todd on top of her. The rest of the girls all had their clothes on. No wait. Those weren't their clothes. I remembered. They switched clothes last night for some damn reason. It seemed funny at the time. There was a bra hanging from the ceiling fan. Ribbons were all over the place. I grabbed some Tylenol and a large glass of ice water and walked out to the back porch. There was a big blow up swimming pool on the slab. What the fuck? I walked up to it and screamed. I peered over again and realized someone had put a stuffed deer head into the pool. It was floating. I looked farther out in the yard and saw a tarp and our water hose running over it. At the end of the tarp was a body. Looked like Chris. I ran to where he was lying on the ground. Apparently he had made a home made slip and slide. He must have been the last one down. He was naked. His shirt was next to him so I draped his shirt over his, yeah…God I'm a lucky girl judging by that. Something was on his head.

Someone wrote 'I love dick' on his forehead with a sharpie. Someone also put lip stick and eyeliner on his face. That's gonna be hard to clean off.

The back door slid opened and Bo walked out. He had put his boxers on. My panties were still on his head. He sort of looked around and shrugged his shoulders.

He walked up and kissed me.

"Wow. Things kind of escalated quickly last night, huh?"

"Yes. Yes they did." I replied. Bo looked down at Chris.

"Chris wound up on the naked slip and slide again. What a dumbass. He knows he always passes out on the naked slip and slide and he knows Adrian always writes 'I love dick' on his forehead. Some dumb asses never learn."

"Bo, there is a deer head in that pool on the porch."

"Yeah, that's Marvin. He belongs to Kevin."

"Oh. Okay."

Bo stretched his arms over his head.

"What do you say you get some breakfast started and I will get to work?"

"Work?"

"Yeah. Can't party all the time Mary. We got to be responsible." He winked at me and started walking to the shed.

"Bo, you are in your boxers. You can't work in your boxers."

"Won't be the first time."

"My panties are still on your head!"

"Yeah, I like them there." He replied still walking to the shed.

I didn't want to know. But I had to know.

"Bo did I do anything stupid last night?"

He finally stopped walking. He turned around and smiled.

"Define stupid."


	7. Chapter 7

Don't own it

Chapter 7

Jasper POV

"It's time, Alice."

"I know Jasper. I just…we lost Bella. I lost Bella. Now we are losing our family."

"They aren't our family, Alice. We are family. You and I."

"I know." She whispered. "It just seems like if we leave, it would be admitting she is gone."

"She is gone, Alice." I whispered back.

"I know."

"You can't stand to be around him. None of us can stand to be around each other. It is time, Alice."

"Let me pack."

I took a breath and walked downstairs. The family was sitting around the table.

"You and Alice are leaving?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes."

"Will you return?" Esme asked.

"No."

Silence.

"Rose and I are leaving too. We aren't coming back." Emmett spoke. This wasn't a surprise. I knew how they both were feeling. Resentment towards each other, anger, depression, guilt. It was a running theme in this family.

Esme turned to Emmett.

"Emmett? Rose?"

"I'm sorry Esme. After what happened. After what we did to Bella…Emmett and I cannot be a part of this any longer. There will be no more going to high school so Carlisle can be a doctor. We won't do it any longer. We are going off by ourselves. We won't be a part of this family. I'm truly sorry but it has to be this way. There is no going back."

Edward looked around.

"Stay. I will leave. I will never return. Don't break up the family over my mistakes."

"We all made mistakes, Edward. We never should have become involved in the human world. It is not our world. We should have either made you turn her immediately or ran away from her." I told him.

"Jasper, we still have each other. We have our family." Carlisle said quietly.

"No. You let Bella become part of our family. Then you let Edward pull us away Carlisle. We abandoned a family member. Families don't do that. Our family fell apart the moment we left her. We should have turned her. We abandoned her. She saved Edward and he turned her down again, leaving her in danger. Making her run. Making her disappear. We killed her. You should have changed her. I should have changed her. Now it is too late. Our family is no more. It is time for us to go."

Alice walked down carrying 4 bags. I took two from her.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

We turned to walk out the door. Alice stopped.

"Edward? I hate you and I hope you suffer for eternity you selfish immature bastard."

With that said Alice and I walked out of the Cullen family. What used to be the Cullen family.

An hour away from Forks, I picked up the phone and dialed Peter.

"Hello Jasper."

"Hey Peter."

"What can I do for you?"

I was a little taken aback. Peter sounded serious. He sounded…angry?

"Alice and I have left the Cullen family."

"And?"

"We were hoping to come visit you and Charlotte."

"We are a little busy, Jasper."

What the hell?

"Okay."

"We are living in Bulgaria right now. We plan on moving soon but aren't sure where."

Bulgaria?

"What the hell are you doing in Bulgaria?" I asked.

"Being vampires. You remember anything about that?"

Yep. Peter was definitely pissed.

"I'm detecting a bit of anger here, Peter. We do something to you?"

"No Jasper, you did something to yourself. Both of you by hooking up with those fucking Cullens. Going to high school? You fucking idiot. Now the Volturi want your fortune teller and you want to bring me and Char in the middle of your shit. You are poison, Jasper. Stay away from us."

The call ended. He hung up on me. That hurt. I know he didn't like the Cullens, but damn.

"Where are we going Jasper?"

"I don't know, Alice. Where do you want to go? New York City?"

"Yes. It's as good a place as any."

PPOV

"That was kind of rough, baby." Char mentioned.

"Yeah. Had to be though. I can't take a chance with him coming to Texas. As long as we stick to our plan of never being involved in Bella Swan's life, Alice won't get a vision of her. If she does, she and Jasper will come looking for the girl. Then we will have to kill them both."

"You would kill Jasper over a human?"

"This one I would. How was she the last time you checked on her?"

"Doing great. They are engaged. You wouldn't believe the wild ass party they had. It looked so fun."

"Good." Kid deserved fun.

"You should see the bed he made for her. Damn thing is fit for a queen. I wouldn't mind having one. I'm sure he wouldn't make the same one but something like it would be nice."

"If that is what you want baby. But we have to use an alias to buy it and hire a guy to pick it up. They are to have zero contact with us or any other vampires."

"I know, baby."

"Then check out his website and email an order for something you like, darlin."

"Already looked baby. Just waitin on the all clear from you. I know how you are about this girl and staying away from her."

"Everything is fine. So long as Jasper doesn't ever come here while she is alive, it will be fine. If he does…"

"You think you can take him?"

"I know I can. He isn't the same man he used to be." The man I knew never would have let shit get that far. He never would have let it get started at all.

BPOV

"It's cold."

"I know. Shhh."

"It's dark. I can't read."

"I know Mary. The sun will be up soon."

"Why are we wearing camo?"

"Cause we are huntin, darlin."

"We are in a big wooden box on legs. It's not like we can even be seen." This was the big deal? This is what I got my shoulder damn near dislocated for?

"No, they can't see us. But the deer can hear us. So let's be quiet okay?" he whispered. I rolled my eyes but the effect was lost on him in the cold darkness.

I sat in the dark for ten more minutes. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I was cold. This thick camo jacket was doing nothing for my cheeks and nose. He wanted to put a wool mask on me and I told him I looked stupid. I was kind of wishing I had it now.

"Bo?" I whispered.

"What Mary?"

"I need to pee."

"Can you hold it? It's almost sunrise. See? The sun is coming up behind us. It will hit the feeder any minute."

I took a deep breath. I really didn't need to pee that bad. I was just bored. It was too damn cold to pee anyway.

"I guess. How is this supposed to work again?"

He took a deep breath. He is the one who brought me. I didn't beg him to drag me out here to shoot Bambi's dad.

"The feeder goes off at the same time every day. The deer get trained to come to the feeder at that time to eat. They come, we find the biggest buck and you shoot it."

"That doesn't seem fair." I pointed out.

"What do you mean it doesn't seem fair?"

"You have these animals thinking they are coming for breakfast and then shoot them? How is that different than killing a dog when you put food in his bowl?"

"It's not the same."

"Seems the same to me."

"I'm not shooting a dog from 200 yards away."

"May as well be." I mumbled.

I guess he didn't hear me or chose to ignore me. I would rather be planning my wedding. We were getting married in two months. Me and my girls had a lot to do. Steph was going to be my maid of honor. She was basically planning the bachelorette party. Me and my girls had to do the rest. It was fine though. Steph wanted camo napkins. Not happening. I can't wait to see what she comes up with for my party.

The sun came up and I heard Bo.

"Holy shit."

"What?" I scooted up and he put a hand on me.

"Gently and quietly sit on the bench and grab your rifle."

I did as I was told.

"Look down the scope to the right of the feeder."

I looked and saw him. Wow.

"He is big."

"Yes he is, Mary. Now train your sites just behind his shoulder, just like we practiced and slow your breathing."

"Why? I can see him fine like this."

"Why? Mary, you have to shoot him there to kill him humanely. You can do this. You have been practicing. Just like target shooting."

"I…I can't kill him."

"What?" he hissed. "That has to be a fucking twelve point buck!"

"I know. I can count. He is beautiful isn't he?"

"Yes. Now kill him and you can look at his head on the wall all you want!"

"I can't do it Bo. He is too beautiful."

"Move over then, Mary. I will do it."

I saw him place his rifle on the stand next to mine.

"No!"

"What? If I don't kill him someone else will. It is deer season you know." He told me like I didn't know what I was freezing my ass out here for.

"We could take him home. Keep him behind the shed."

"You can't take a wild animal home! What do you want me to do? Rope him?"

Then it happened.

"Look Bo! He has a wife!" A beautiful doe walked up beside him.

"Bo, you can't kill him with his wife next to him!"

I think Bo just said a curse word under his breath. He was mumbling something about monster bucks and chance of a lifetime. I don't know what his problem is. Deer season happens every year. Oh how cute…

"Bo look!"

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." He whispered.

The cutest baby deer just walked up next to the buck and began eating off the ground next to his daddy.

It kind of made me wonder about my parents. Were they alive? Did they look for me but in the wrong place? What if they didn't? Marriage had me thinking about a lot of things. Nobody was giving me away. I didn't want anyone to. It's been me and Bo since he found me in the woods. I would be giving myself to him. I don't care about my old life. But I did wonder about my parents sometimes. I mean everyone has parents. Our children wouldn't have grandparents with Bo's parents dead and mine unknown.

"Bo you can't kill the daddy with his wife and kid there."

"Mary, that is food. It's the same as cows when you eat steak."

"I don't have to look at the cow's head every day in my living room while I eat it! Besides if it is just meat you are after why do you have to shoot the one with the biggest horns?"

"Antlers."

"What?"

"Antlers, Mary."

"Whatever."

"Look what did you think we would be doing when we went hunting?"

"I know, but Bo. He is so regal looking. And his family is there. It would be too sad."

"Mary…fine. Let's go home."

"No! I want to watch them eat and get some pictures." I had to get a picture of this. It would look so good on our wall.

"We don't have a camera."

"Yes we do! I brought ours from home. Hold on."

I grabbed the camera out of the bag and zoomed in.

"You brought a camera?"

"Yes. Isn't that what you are supposed to do? Take a picture with a deer?" What was the problem? I was being proactive.

"Yeah. A dead deer that you just shot. Not a family photo that your friends are going to kick your ass over because I let it go."

"Just tell them I shot and missed." Men.

"I love you Mary. You have no idea how much this shows that I love you." He whispered and kissed me on the nose. It was nice because my nose was freezing.

"I know." I smiled back at him.

"So if I don't get to mount a bucks head on my wall, there is something else I want to mount." He winked at me.

"Great! Let's go home. We can climb under the covers and you can warm up my toes."

"No. I was thinking more like now."

"Uh. Bo, it's like 40 degrees. I am freezing. I am not getting naked in here."

"We have the space heater."

"I have to pee!"

"No you don't." Dammit, he knows my lies to well!

"I am not making love to you in this wooden box!"

"But Mary, I have always had this fantasy about making love in a deer stand." He was giving me that panty dropping grin. Now he was stroking me cheek. Don't give in.

"No!"

"Fine." He sighed. "I suppose since I am here I may as well shoot that buck. Oh wow. He has two kids with him now. Want to see?"

"You are going to kill that deer if I don't give it up in this deer stand?"

"That's right." Fuck he was looking through his scope again. I was really cold. I moved to look at the feeder. There were two babies there now.

"You expect me to fuck for that deer's life?"

"Yep."

I looked again. The babies were so cute.

"Close the flap and turn the heater on. You aren't taking my top off. And nothing comes off till it warms up in here. Deal?"

He finally put the gun down.

"I think that is a fair compromise darlin." He smiled.

"Shut up and turn the fucking heater on, Bo."

Charlie POV

A month was wasted running from Dallas to Louisiana. I must have talked to every metropolitan police department. Dallas was way too big to give me any serious help. Tyler was nice but the guy who was in charge of missing persons just came from Robbery and didn't recognize her. They didn't have her in their system.

Jake and I hit every small town we could with missing person's posters. I even talked to the bank and arranged to get a loan for a reward if anyone gave me any info leading to her being found.

I was sitting with Sam, Jacob, Billy and Sue in Billy's living room. The Cullens had left. We had no reason to think the Italian vampires would be here. No vampires for a couple months. Things were slowing down. Unfortunately my investigation never got underway.

At least it didn't get far.

"Am I fighting a losing battle here?" I asked to no one in particular.

"No Charlie. You aren't. When are you going back?" Sue asked. She had been so supportive. All of the La Push gang had been but Sue especially. She sat up so many nights with me, just listening.

"Last weekend of every month. I will keep going to Texas for the rest of my life if I have to. I may have to move there if nothing comes up soon."

"I'm going with you this time."

"Sue…"

"No, Charlie. I am coming with you."

"Any word from Paul and Embry, Sam? Jake?"

"No. They are covering the area around Whitehouse, and then hitting the Palestine area."

The Pack had a running rotation. Two of them were always in East Texas passing out missing posters with Bella's face. When I went to Texas, they would come back to La Push. When I got back to Forks, two more pack members would go to Texas. Leah and Seth went last time. Paul and Embry were there now. They ran at night trying to catch a scent. They passed posters out during the day. I didn't know how they afforded this but Billy told me not to worry about it. I really wasn't in a position to argue.

"Charlie I think you need to focus on what you didn't find." Billy commented.

"I have been, Billy."

"No. I mean what you didn't find at the police departments. No unclaimed bodies that haven't been identified. No human remains found by hunters in the forest in the past year that haven't been identified. She hasn't been found dead. She wasn't buried in the middle of a forest. She was left on the side of the road. Someone would have discovered a body. I agree with Jake's theory."

I looked at Jake who was nodding at his Dad.

"You think she is still hiding because she thinks vampires are after her and therefore me."

"Yep. It's the only thing that makes sense." Billy said.

"But if that's the case she could have caught a ride, hitch hiked anywhere. She may not even be near Texas now."

"That's true Charlie but I would bet that girl is alive. All we have to go on now is East Texas. We stick with that." Sam said.

"I'm just so damn disappointed I guess. I really thought when I found the area that finding her would be…"

"Easy?" Sue whispered. I raised my head and nodded.

"Yeah."

"You can't give up, Charlie." Jake said quietly.

"I will never give up Jake. I will be on my death bed still looking for leads!" I yelled. I was a little wired.

Give up? Not an option. I would go bankrupt. Lose my job, my house, whatever it took. Work two jobs if I needed the money. I was going to bring her home. One way or another. I just wish I had a sliver of hope. Anything that could be found.

Bo POV

"You should have brought someone else to help you unload."

"Why?"

"I'm not strong enough for that dresser."

"Of course you are. The weight lifting has made you a lot stronger." I told her honestly.

"Are you saying I look bulky? I can't get bulky Bo. I've already had my fitting. I can't change sizes!"

"Would you relax? You aren't bulky by any means. Still the same size. I'm just saying you have gotten deceptively stronger."

"I still can't handle this."

"I have the dolly. All you have to do is open the doors. Then we can go into Tyler and check on your flowers. They will be here this weekend. If there not perfect we are going to be at the Rose Garden. We can just pick some."

Mary was so into this wedding. She must have been a really girly girl in her old life. I would have loved to have known her then. I also wish she knew her parents. I have always been a little insecure about her old life, no matter how often she tells me not to be. But it was lessening. I knew without a doubt no matter what she wouldn't leave me. Now I wish she could find out if she at least had parents who were alive. I missed mine pretty bad still. I wished they could have been there. Steph was in tears over it the other night.

They would have loved Mary so much.

We dropped off the dresser. Mary tripped over the door she opened but thankfully no injuries occurred. This is why I only trusted her with the belt sander. No other power tools for her. After we get back from the honeymoon, I planned to give all my attention to her plan. She decided we could afford a bigger shop. She had the spot picked up behind our house. She had the sign picked out. She had the hiring plan laid out. We were expanding. Slowly. But we were going to expand. She convinced me. She said I was too talented to only use my talents locally. Truthfully I had thought of this since I first started making furniture. I was always a little afraid though. A little unsure of myself. She gave me confidence. She made me feel there was nothing we couldn't accomplish together. It seemed like every time she opened her mouth some words of wisdom spilled out.

"Bo, I'm hungry and I need to pee."

Okay. Maybe not every time. But a lot of the time. Some of the time.

"You want to wait ten minutes and go to Bodacious Barbecue or you want to stop at Dairy Queen over there?"

"Hungerbuster with bacon. Good… Mmmmm. Mary hungry."

"I guess Dairy Queen it is." I laughed. She must be hungry if she is doing the cutest little Hulk imitation ever.

We pulled in and sat at the blue table. Why they felt the need to make the tables different colors in these places I will never understand. Like having lunch in a Rubik's Cube.

We sat and talked about nothing in particular. Then she started talking about my tuxedo. My bachelor party. She denied knowing anything about her party. I knew the only contribution the maid of honor had made to the wedding was the bachelorette party. Steph arranged this. It made me nervous.

"So are you going to have strippers at your party, Mary?" I asked casually.

"I really don't know. You would have to ask your sister."

"Mmm hmm. So you have no idea?"

"Hey. I'm just along for the ride. What about you? Strippers?"

"I don't know."

"Cause I heard they were taking you to Timeout."

"Yeah? I don't know what Todd has planned."

"Mmmmm hmmmm." She hummed raising an eyebrow.

"Hey look. Our order is ready!"

We ate in relative silence. Mary threw a few French fries at me. I hit her with an open ketchup package on her nose. We got some dirty looks from the teens working the counter for making a mess I suppose. All in all a typical day for us. No matter what we were doing, I always seemed to be having fun with her. That's the real reason I brought her on deliveries. They were boring without her.

We finished up and I dumped our baskets in the trash. It was time to go check on the location and the flowers. I backed out of the parking lot and something caught my eye. Two of the biggest guys I had seen around these parts. Looked Indian. I didn't know many Indians but I didn't think they were normally any larger than a normal person. These two were huge.

"Hey Mary, look at those guys walking in."

She turned and saw them.

"Holy shit they are big."

"Yeah." Putting it mildly. 6'5 at least and built like goddamn bodybuilders. Strange. Maybe there is some sort of boy building competition in town.

"We shouldn't stare. It's rude Bo. Let's go check on the flowers."

Paul POV

"We can eat later, Embry."

"Fuck Paul, I'm starving. Besides they got these Dairy Queen places all over. We can leave a poster here."

We walked in and stood in the back of the line.

"You think she is alive, Paul?" Embry asked trying to sound casual.

"Yep. Not a doubt in my mind."

"How can you be so sure?"

"That little girl slapped a 6'5 man in the face once and then didn't pass out when that man turned into a giant wolf. She survived vampires. She survived a serial rapist according to Charlie. She is too tough to die."

Embry nodded and stood silently. I perused the menu. Four double cheeseburgers sounded about right.

Jalepenos? Don't mind if I do.

We placed our orders and went to sit down to wait. All these fucking tables were colored. Red, blue, yellow. What am I in? A fucking pre school?

We picked the blue table and sat down. Away from the smell of a burning grill it hit me. A fresh scent. Embry smelt it to. His eyes were wide.

"It can't be." He whispered.

"I'll never forget that girl's scent, Embry. It has to be fresh to be on this surface." I looked under the table and saw an open ketchup package. I picked it up and sniffed. Jake wasn't the only one who would never forget that scent. Before I imprinted on Rachel, that girl haunted my dreams. She still does sometimes. More so since she had been gone. I kept it to myself. But before the Spirits decided the Wolf should love Rachel Black, the man loved Bella Swan. I never told her because of this stupid imprinting thing. I was glad I didn't. I didn't know if she would have me but imprinting would have been another blow in her life she didn't need. That's why I'm glad she never fell in love with Jake. The chance of imprinting was too great. Also I would have been too jealous.

"You okay, man?" I heard from the front.

The kid at the counter was staring at me. I suppose I was sniffing a ketchup packet off the floor. I handed it to Embry and walked to the counter, posters in hand.

"You seen this girl?"

"What is this? A joke?"

"Do I look like I am joking boy?" I growled. He backed up.

"Chill man. I'm just sayin, the poster says missin but that girl and her boyfriend were throwing French fries and that ketchup packet not 5 minutes ago. They left right before you came in."

"You see what they were driving? A license plate? What direction they headed?"

"No. I'm kinda busy working here. That says there is a reward. Is there a reward?"

"You know where she is? Where she lives?"

"No! I don't know her. Never seen her before. A lot of people live in this area, man."

"In this town?"

"No but we are ten miles from Tyler. She ain't from Whitehouse. I know everybody in Whitehouse. Neither of them were from here."

"I tell you what kid. You keep this poster. You put it up on the wall. You see her again you call that number immediately. You help me find her I will pay you myself. Now put our food in bags. We have to hit the road."

I walked back to Embry who had sat and watched the exchange.

"Five minutes? We missed her by five fucking minutes! Hell Paul, it could be five days! There are 100,000 plus people in Tyler. That's not even counting the small towns around here."

"Embry, shut up already. We know she is alive and we know she is in this area. We know more than we knew before. This is all good news."

"Did I hear him say boyfriend, Paul?"

"Yeah. But it could have been just a friend. Downplay it. I don't need Jake coming up here on a mission to win her. We need to get her home. Now I got to call Charlie."

I dialed his number, smiling. It would be nice to give him some good news.

"Paul?"

"Charlie. I haven't found her yet but I know she is alive. She just left a fast food place right before Embry and I arrived. The guy at the counter recognized her instantly. She was with another guy and they were playing around and laughing Charlie. She is alive. She doesn't appear to be in danger. We don't know exactly where she is. We still have to search. But we are on the right track, Charlie. Someone will recognize her from the poster. It's a matter of time."

I heard nothing but silence on the other end of the line.

"Charlie?"

Then I heard it. Chief Swan was crying silently.

"Paul…I am on my way. Get me a room in Tyler and text me the details. I am on my way."


	8. Chapter 8

Don't own it

If anyone cares I kind of picture Stephanie like Jamie Presley from My name is Earl.

Chapter 8

BPOV

"Holy shit, I can't believe I am actually getting married. Tomorrow."

"Shit, I can. The way you two been dancing around each other since he found you on the side of the road. And then once you gave that little virgin ass up, ya'll fuck like jackrabbits. I have to shoo Hunter outside so much the boy should have every merit badge the boy scouts offer. I may as well set up a tent for him to live in. Then Bo spends half the day buildin furniture and the other half using your body to polish the shine of that desk top you sit in front of, pretending to work while you ogle him. Shoulda saved everyone a bunch of time and hassle and just gone from the hospital to the justice of the peace."

Stephanie was a romantic.

"I'm not drinking tonight, Steph. I am not going to be hung over for my wedding."

"No problem, kid. I plan to drink enough for both of us. You can drive us home. Now let's go."

Two hours later I was sitting on a throne.

On a stage.

While two men oiled up and wearing the tiniest g strings imaginable grinded their hips and ass in front of me to very loud music.

My girls were going nuts. Adrian kept tossing quarters at the blonde's ass to see if they would bounce.

They did.

Oh damn, he had his ass on my lap. That felt…weird.

I missed my husband. I mean my fiancé. Husband tomorrow. Fiancé now.

I was finally allowed to come down from my lofty status and join the common wenches below.

"Mary! You have to try one of these!"

Tina gave me a Popsicle. It was shaped like a dick. A long purple dick.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I yelled over the music.

"Suck it down bitch!" Tina was a little drunk.

I put my lips around it and found…

Huh. Grape. Not bad. One of the dancers was staring at me.

I bit the head off. He turned away quickly. Effective. May have to use this to get a point across to Bo.

Steph had a dancer sitting down and was on his lap grinding him. Adrian just put a dollar in a dancer's g string using her mouth.

"So you are the blushing bride, huh?"

Oh shit. A dancer that kind of looked like Chandler Tatum is on front of me.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"You're wearing a crown that says Bride on it." He yelled over the extremely loud music.

"Oh right. I like your…uh…fireman's uniform."

"My name is John. Let me give you a private dance. On the house."

"No."

"What?"

"No!" I yelled a little louder.

"I'm offering it for free."

"And I am turning it down for free. I'm here to have fun with my friends the night before my wedding. Not to get dry humped by a fireman. But you are cute. My soon to be sister in law, Stephanie, the blonde grinding the doctor? She is pretty much a sure thing. You should go make the same offer to her."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes."

"But…"

"Look, no means no. You ain't got shit on my man. Now beat it before you start to piss me off. I have a frozen cock to bite!"

"Mary!" I turned and saw Tina and Adrian.

"What?"

"We are so proud of you, bitch!"

"Why? For turning down a free dance?" That was weird.

"No. You used Ain't in a sentence!" Adrian was giggling. Okay so maybe my grammar is slipping. But damn. You can't hear it all the time without it affecting you.

"Come one girl. Barb has games we need to play."

I was dragged to the table and saw Steph had grabbed hold of my fireman admirer. By the look of his g string he was really looking for a date tonight.

I wonder what Bo is doing? I would love to be holding his hot…

"Okay girls listen up. Mary, you are taking a shot!" Tina said, placing a shot of bourbon in front of me.

"No! I'm not drinking tonight!"

"One shot princess. You will be plenty beautiful enough for your dashing husband. Now I am going to make a toast and you have to drink!"

I took a deep breath. Stephanie peeled herself out of the fireman doctor sandwich she had been in and stumbled over. One drink. I didn't want to have to take a taxi all the way home and then get a ride back in the morning to pick up Bo's truck.

"To Mary! Our newest sister! We don't know where the fuck she came from. We don't know what the hell kind of accent she has. We don't know how it is fucking possible she stayed a virgin through high school. But damn it if we don't love her!"

Everyone yelled yee haw and downed their shots. I did too. I can't believe I told them that. I could feel my cheeks burning.

Stephanie poured another shot.

I wasn't drinking this one.

"To my soon to be sister in law! It took a magical piece of ass dropped from the sky to finally be good enough for my brother but we are damn glad the aliens left her in Texas!"

Another round of yee haws and I felt the shot glass to my lips again. This is so bad.

Adrian was next.

"To Mary! A great girl to have by your side when you need to kick some serious ass after a funeral!"

Another round of yee haws. Another round of shots. This was very, very bad. A dancer dressed like a cowboy from the Village People just put a cowboy hat on my head.

Barbara came next.

"To Mary! Her ass has sanded more furniture in this county than Bo's belt sander ever did. Her cute little ass has the splinter scars to prove it!"

They drank. I didn't.

"It was one time! One splinter! I swear I don't know why I tell you bitches anything!"

"Drink up Mary!" I felt the shot glass on my lips again. This is not me. They are doing this.

Tiffany was next.

"To Mary! The only girl I know who isn't afraid to read blow job instructions off the internet and call her friend at 2 AM asking if it sounded right!"

This was it. This was my last shot. Bo would be so mad if he knew I was drinking. We both promised not to drink so we could be fresh in the morning. I wonder what he is doing right now. Oh fuck they just put another one in front of me.

Bo POV

I was on a throne. On a stage. Every stripper in this fucking place was lined up to give me a lap dance. I currently had my hands tied to the back of the throne by what I believe is a garter belt. If Todd takes pictures of this I am going to kill him.

"Thank you."

I don't know why I felt the need to tell these women than you for shaking their tits in front of my face. I guess I was just raised to be polite.

"Can I get down now?" I yelled to Troy.

"Six strippers to go, pussy!"

Oh damn. You know, you think if a girl made her living taking off her clothes she would work out or something. Not the case so much apparently.

The parade of skank ass ran its course and I was escorted by two of these 'ladies' off the stage. I was about to make the first step down when the DJ called my name.

"Hey Bo? Did your girl smile when you asked her to marry you?" he blared through the speakers.

"Yeah." I yelled at him.

"That's cause she won't knows she won't have to give you anymore blowjobs the moment you say I do. Enjoy married life!"

That caused quite a bit of laughter. I walked down to our table where my boys were getting wasted. Except for Brian. He was the designated driver. I told him he didn't have too. I told Mary I wouldn't drink tonight.

"Bo, have a beer." Todd slid one over to me.

"I can't."

"Come on. Don't be pussy whipped already." Chris commented.

"Says the guy who likes dick."

"I was in an inebriated state! That shit took two days to come off!"

"Yeah and if I get drunk I can imagine what you assholes are going to write on my head."

"Come on Bo. One beer won't kill you. She is out getting wasted with guys in g strings right now." Troy helpfully commented.

"She isn't getting wasted."

"She is with our crazy ass girls and you don't think she is getting wasted?" Brian apparently thought this was funny.

"Nope."

"Call her right now. I'll bet you twenty she is three sheets to the wind."

"Fine." I wanted to talk to her anyway.

The phone rang and Mary didn't pick up. Five minutes later I got a text from her.

'saw u called. Couldn't hear. Wats up?'

'miss u'

'miss u 2'

"Go ahead and ask her!" Troy yelled from across the table.

'U drinkin?'

Nothing. No texts for five minutes.

"Have a beer Bo. She ain't gonna complain."

Finally my phone buzzed.

'why do u ask?'

"Did she deny it?" Chris asked, laughing.

"No. She asked me why I asked."

"That means she is wasted and doesn't want to lie to you about it."

I ignored the assholes. I sent her another text.

'having fun?'

'No. U?' I knew she would be miserable without me.

'Not really. Want to go home and get in bed wit u.' I texted he. Maybe we could sneak off and meet. Screw tradition.

'Me 2.'

'so u drinkin?'

Nothing. Finally I got a reply. Picture text.

'don't think about what I may or may not be drinking. Think about getting this .'

I opened the picture and holy shit please tell me she was in the bathroom when she took that photo. Damn. I wonder if she wore panties and just took them off or…no of course she wore panties. She must be in the bathroom. Damn she is completely shaved. So that's what a Brazilian wax is. I knew we had talked about it…

"What did she say?"

"She sent me a pic."

"Can we see?" Troy asked.

"Nope. I think it's safe to say she is wasted though. Give me a beer."

I started drinking to a round of applause. Just a few beers. I mean it was my bachelor party. Mary wouldn't mind. I drank a few and fought off some strippers advances for the next thirty minutes. Then I had a brilliant idea. Maybe I should go to the bathroom and send my own text back.

"I'll be right back."

Damn. Probably shouldn't have had those shots. Oh well. I got into a booth and dropped my drawers. See how she likes this. Little tease.

I hit the send button. I strolled back to the table and saw my boys looking at their phones with weird faces.

"What's up guys? You all get lap dances while I was gone or somethin?"

"Hey Bo, why did you send a group text message?"

"I didn't."

"Yeah? Why do we all have pictures of a dick from you?"

Oh fuck.

I checked my phone. Mary had set up that group share texting thing the other day so we could all share media files. I never got around to asking her how to turn it off.

My phone was buzzing. All the girls at Mary's party were sending me smiley faces. Now my phone was ringing. Mary…

"Hey baby! How's your party going?"

BPOV

He sent a picture of his dick to all of our friends. Is he fucking high? I've never known him to smoke weed. If he does he better get it out of his system now.

"Damn Mary. You are one lucky girl." Tina smiled.

"Ya'll delete that photo now!"

That cause everyone to shut up.

"I'm serious."

"Mary. You said 'Ya'll." Adrian pointed out because apparently she thought I was too drunk to understand what I was saying.

"I don't give a damn! Ya'll delete those photos now. You ain't havin pictures of my dumbass husband's cock on ya'lls phone! Now delete it before I break those motherfuckers!" Okay yes, my speech was slurring a little bit.

"Oh my God. The drunker she gets the more redneck she sounds. It's like watching a baby bird break through its shell." Tiffany said with wide eyes.

"I better see thumbs deleting bitches." If they thought I was fucking around…

They were apparently deleting. Or doing something.

"Phones here!"

They passed their phones to me. Cock free. That fucking idiot. "I'm going to the bathroom."

I closed the stall door and dialed.

"Hey baby! How's your party going?" he answered.

"Goin great till my girls got a picture of my man's dick! You high?"

"No. You know you don't do that. I mean I don't do that."

"How fuckin drunk are you that you would do that!?" What a fuckin idiot. And now I really wanted his cock.

"I don't know how drunk I am. You want me to find a cop with a Breathalyzer? There are a couple on duty here getting lap dances. Wait. You sound different. How fuckin drunk are you?"

"I didn't send a picture of my special place to all your friends!"

"It's your damn fault!"

"The hell it is Robert Benjamin Walker. I didn't snap a photo of your dick."

"I was sendin it to you! You started it with that picture of Bo's hideout. But you set that damn group share text messagin thing on my phone and never showed me how it worked or how to turn it off!"

Oh yeah. Shit.

This was on me.

"Baby?"

"Yeah Mary?"

"I'm sorry. That was kinda my bad. Ya mad?" I asked.

"No, I just don't want you mad at…hey why are you talkin different?"

"What do ya mean?" I asked.

"Never mind. Baby I really miss you. Let's go home and I'll show you mine and you can show me yours."

"No. I'm goin to Tina's tonight. We have to be at her Salon at 7 AM. You behave. You know what time you have to be at the Rose Gardens right?"

"Yeah baby. Matter of fact we are just getting out of here now." I heard our friends booing in the background.

"I think that's a good idea." Damn straight it was.

"You should probably head home too. You know 7 AM is only in 7 hours."

"I know how to count time Bo." Count time? Tell time? How many fucking shots di they give me?

"I love you Mary. I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"I love you too baby. Now get your cute ass home. I hid all the Sharpies, so it will be okay to fall asleep before everybody. Lock the bed room door and the window just in case. And don't be sending anymore pictures of your cock. That damn thing is mine!"

"Alright. Hey you think before you fall asleep you could send me a picture of Kate and Bianca? I'm used to going to sleep with them pressed against my chest."

"Yeah. If you can refrain from sending anymore pictures of Petruchio I will send you a picture of my girls when I get to Tina's."

"I love you baby."

"I love you too." He is so sweet. Wait. Didn't I call to bitch him out?

I walked out of the stall and saw Adrian in the bathroom smiling.

"You named his cock Pinochio? Is it cause its gets longer the more he lies? Judgin by that picture he ain't nothing but a damn liar is he?" She grinned. She thought that was funny. Okay, maybe it was.

"I named it Petruchio. After the main male character in the Taming of the Shrew."

"That shit they made us read in high school?"

"Yeah. That shit." I guess. I just read it a couple months ago.

"Girl you need to read some more interesting shit. Stuff written in English. C'mon. We are taking the party to my place. Tiff is getting the cab. We will make one of the guys come back in the morning and pick up the truck."

Guess the party was over. Thank God. My legs were shaking and my skirt looked like it had baby oil stains on it. Plus I'm pretty sure I left my panties in the bathroom earlier while I was taking that picture and they weren't here now. Disturbing.

Bo POV

"Oh man, what time is it?"

"Six AM, Bo." Troy was fryin bacon. I smelt eggs. I wanted to puke.

Chris grabbed my arm.

"Come on Bo. I got this from the ambulance yesterday. Time to re hydrate you so you can make Mary's panties drop at the wedding."

"I got to be dressed and at the Rose Garden in three hours."

"Sit down boy." Chris pulled out a needle.

"No."

"Yes."

"Damn it Chris! You may be a paramedic but the last time you did this shit you stuck me 6 times before you hit a vein."

"Yeah but when I did, you felt better quick didn't ya? Besides I'm used to doin this in the back of a bouncing ambulance. Maybe Troy could shake your chair."

"Yeah…" The old paramedic hangover heaven special. Saline and B 12. Completely natural, guaranteed to make you feel better after a long night of drinkin the devil's brew.

"Ow!"

"Hey, I got it on the first time!" Look guys! I got it on the first time."

I felt better after twenty minutes but turned down breakfast. We were getting married at noon. I could wait till lunch afterward.

While I was taking a shower, all I could think about was the past year. Finding Mary, fallen in love the first time I saw her, the time in the hospital. Bringin her home. The first time she told me she loved me. The first time we made love. The second time, all the other times, the desk, pulling that splinter out of her ass while she used every curse word she knew and I helped her come up with some new ones. Teachin her to shoot, lifting weights and running after work. Deliverin furniture while she told me bad jokes on the road. Ice skating. Showin her how to handle the power tools and realizing I should never let her around any power tools with a point or a blade. All our campin trips and the way she freaks out when she actually catches a fish and makes me take it off the hook cause she refuses to touch it. Dancin. The way she goes to bed every night sprawled on top of me naked while rubbing behind my right ear with her finger cause she knows I like that.

I got damn lucky.

I had cut my hair kinda short cause she likes it best that way. I brushed my teeth and got dressed. Walkin out I saw all my boys were ready in their tuxes.

Todd walked up. My friend since the sand box days. The guy I cried with and got drunk with after my parents died.

"You ready bro?"

"Damn right I am.

BPOV

"What's on your mind sweetie?" Stephanie asked putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Not much. Just a little anxious, I guess. I want everything perfect for him." I was currently strapped in a salon chair, while Tiffany, Tina and Adrian teased, pulled and yanked my hair into intricate ribbons.

"You are gonna be there. It will be perfect. You just relax and think about the honeymoon. This time tomorrow you two will be relaxing in a hot tub shaped like a champagne glass enjoying the Pocono mountain scenery."

"I know. I can't wait." We had decided against the typical tropical destination to go to the Pocono Mountain resort in Pennsylvania. I think Bo was really afraid of me getting a sunburn in Cancun. I didn't mind. I loved the idea. The scenery I saw on the internet was breathtaking. It was so us.

"So why do you still look so deep in thought?"

"I'm not."

"Mary, I've been living with you for damn near a year. You are always deep in thought about something. Granted it's usually some new thing you can find to do my little brother on top of but this ain't the same."

"I guess I just wish…I don't know. I wish your parents were here. You know? I don't have mine and…"

"You wish to hell you did right now, huh?"

"Yeah." I admitted. "I mean they could be gone too. I don't know. I have come to grips with the fact that I will most likely never learn about my past. I'm so damn happy now. But…"

"You wish your daddy was here to give you away."

"Yeah." I admitted. I guess it bothered me a little more than I let on.

"Mary if you really want to find out about your past, you know Bo would work his damn hardest to find out. Ain't nothing in the world that boy won't do for you."

"I know. But I don't want to…I just want to get on with my life. It's not a big deal. I mean, I'm 19. He is 22. We got the rest of our lives to figure out if something is out there about me. We got our first Christmas to look forward to when we get back. We got a business to take care of. We are gonna have kids one day. I got a lot more to look forward to than worryin about what is behind me."

Steph hugged me in the chair and kissed my cheek.

"I love you too, you know?"

"Yeah I do." These girls were going to make me cry.

"We all love you Mary." Tina said, walking up. I guess they were listening. "And we are all so proud of you."

"Proud of what? That I don't want to worry about my past?"

"No. You said gonna instead of going to. Your English is getting so much better. You keep talkin like that and strangers around here are gonna be more trusting towards you."

"Bitch." I had to laugh. I don't know what I would do without my friends.

Leah POV

The poor bastard who operated this all you can eat breakfast had no idea what he was getting into. A pack of werewolves had descended on his establishment. His cooks couldn't keep up.

We were all gathered around a table in Tyler, Texas. This was a nice area. Very pretty, lots of forests.

Charlie wanted to come himself. That wasn't happening. The whole damn pack minus Quil, Brady and Colin had come. Billy was here. Mom came. She and Charlie had been dating in secret. They must have forgot that there are no secrets in La Push. Plus they hadn't exactly had time for much romance with Charlie looking for Bella all the time.

"Okay, listen up everybody. Billy and I will take the Tyler area, again. Posters at every place she or anyone she knows might be going. Leah, you, Sue and Seth hit the Lindale area. There are a few small communities that I haven't looked at in the past. One in particular. There is a community called Hide a Way Lake. Only a few stores. And some houses. But there are a lot of houses around Hide a Way, ten miles or so in radius. Paul, if you and Jake could take the Brownsboro area. Sam, if you wouldn't mind taking Van. It's a small town but a big area. Embry, you and Paul take the Whitehouse area in case she comes back. We are going to lay off Palestine for a while. We got one week. We are going to find her in one week. If not I am sending you all back and I am staying to do a house by house search."

I saw Paul reading the paper.

"Hey Paul. Give me the social section."

"Why? You interested in the polite society news of a place we don't live?"

"I like to look at the wedding announcements."

"Weddings?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. Who is getting married today, who got engaged. Weddings. Who the hell knows? I may have one someday. Until then I like to live vicariously through others. Shut up and give me the fucking paper!"

"Damn Leah. Calm down. Didn't take you for a romantic. Here you go." Paul passed me the section and I started flipping through. One day I would be the one in this section. Somebody had to be out there for me.

Page one was a section on wedding cakes. Page two was what I was looking for. Engagement pictures. Cute couples. The next page had the engagement pictures of weddings scheduled today. Pretty girls looking so hap…

"Charlie?"

"Yeah Leah?"

"We need to find you a suit."

"Why?"

"Bella is getting married at the Tyler Rose Garden in three hours."


	9. Chapter 9

Don't own it

Chapter 9

Bo POV

10:30. Hour and a half away from being complete. I knew Mary was here. Steph was here. The girls were not around. They were doing whatever it is girls do before a wedding. My guys were making sure the kegs were tapped at the bar. I was…pacing. Guests were starting to arrive. Family and friends of mine. Friends of my parents. We only invited about 50 people.

I was doing my hardest to not get dirt on my white tux. Thank God no rain today. It was cool but not cold. We were prepared to go inside but I know Mary really wanted this outside. My friends had black tuxes on. They were also wearing black cowboy hats. Mary told me no. I've never been a hat guy anyway. Or a ball cap for that matter. Mary liked my hair. Why the fuck would I hide it? Troy was about to say something to me when we heard it. Some sort of ruckus at the entrance.

I glanced at Troy and we started that way. I did not need any shit today. We got near the entrance and saw the attendants arguing with a dark haired man with a mustache and…good lord how many giant Indians does Tyler have?

We ran up the attendants. Not very quickly. Kind of hard to run in a tux.

"What the hell is going on?"

"These people do not have invitations, Mr. Walker." The teen attendant told me. I give the boy some credit for standing up to these monsters.

"Calm down. Let's ask the nice people what they want."

The attendants stepped aside and I walked up to the older guy. He looked upset. He must be the ringleader.

"My name is Bo Walker. This here is my wedding. What can I do for you folks?"

"I want to see my daughter now!" He pulled out a badge and handed it to me. I checked it out. Interesting.

"Charles Swan. Chief of Police, Forks, Washington." I handed it back to him.

"Look, I don't know where the hell Forks Washington is, but I know that badge gives you about as much authority in Texas as a French hairdresser. Now I don't know what someone may have told you but …" I turned to look. The guys all shook their heads. That's a relief. "But there ain't nobody's daughter here who ain't supposed to be."

"Move aside, you ignorant ass." The big guy in the front walked up. There is that sound I love so much. The sliding of a shell into the chamber.

"Son, I realize you are about the size of the Hulk but I don't think that's gonna do you much good against my friend back there and his .12 gauge pointed at your head." That made his ass pause. Peace through superior firepower.

Thank God, Chris loves to pull that damn thing whenever he gets a chance and his truck is thirty feet away.

"Now how about before ya'll go beatin us up and we go shootin you down we all calm down and somebody explain what is going on before I call some cops that have badges that matter around here."

The guy named Charles took a deep breath.

"Look, you are marrying my daughter."

"Mary doesn't…"

Oh shit. No way…

"Who the fuck are you?" I whispered.

"My name is Charlie Swan. I have been looking for my daughter since she went missing a year ago. Her name is Bella Swan."

He handed me a missing poster. It had Mary's picture on it.

"This is my Mary…" I told him quietly. Troy walked up and took the poster from my hand.

"She may be son, but she is my daughter." He said, looking me in the eyes. That's when I saw it.

"You have the same eyes."

He started tearing up.

"Bo. Go get straightened up. Your bow tie is crooked. I got this." Steph said walking up.

"Steph, I…"

"Bo. Do as your big sister says for once. Go to the bathroom. Get yourself straightened up and get ready to marry your girl. Chat up the guests. Tell Chris to put that cannon back in his truck. I got this." I nodded my head. I was kind of in a daze here. They had the same eyes…

Charlie POV

The guy who is apparently marrying my daughter walked away. He kind of looked shocked. Now there was a blonde woman in front of us. Short green bride's maid dress. Very pretty.

"My name is Stephanie. I'm Bo's big sister. Follow me."

She walked off without another look back. I turned to look at Sue and she shrugged her shoulders. We followed her into a large hall that was decorated with numerous tables. The hall was beautiful. She sat down at a long table and waived her hand, indicating that we should sit.

"So you are Charlie Swan. Who are these folks?"

"This is Bella's family." I answered honestly.

"Well she certainly didn't get her complexion from them." She smiled.

I would have laughed normally. I wasn't in the mood. My daughter was somewhere in this building.

"Look. If you would just tell Bella that her father is here and she doesn't have to hide anymore she will come down here. Please. I'm begging you." I was ten seconds away from having Leah knock this girl on her ass and running up those stairs.

"Your daughter doesn't know you."

"Of…" Wait. Doesn't know me?

"Why did you wait this long to look for her?" the girl asked.

"This long? I've been looking for her since she disappeared!"

"You been looking for a year and you're a cop? We had her picture and fingerprints all over the police databases. I saw the Tyler cop take them."

"Ma'am, I have been at Tyler PD three times in the last year. They do not have her in their system." I explained. I could be patient. I had to find out what was going on.

"Did you beat her?"

"What!?"

"Did…you…beat her?"

"No!"

"Then why did she disappear? You said she didn't have to hide anymore. She get kidnapped out of her room? If that's the case who do you think she is hiding from?" Stephanie asked. She was grilling me like I usually grill suspects.

"She ran off because of…an argument with her ex boyfriend. I guess she thought she wasn't safe around him." That wasn't a lie.

"I found out later that she got kidnapped in Indiana by a serial rapist. I talked to the guy. He told me he didn't rape her. She fought him off and he hit her over the head and left her on the side of the road in this area. I've been looking here ever since. Please. I just need to see my daughter."

"First you need to understand some things. Then we will talk about whether you will see your daughter today."

Jake growled. I shook my head at him.

"Go ahead." I nodded. Sue reached out and took my hand.

"Like I said, she doesn't have a clue who you are. I'll start at the beginning. Considering she is getting married in 45 minutes and I am the maid of honor I am going to have to give you the short version.

About a year ago, my brother and I were driving back from a delivery. We noticed tire tracks that went damn near to the tree line. For some reason he decided to investigate. Guess what he found? A pretty little brown haired, brown eyed girl, lying face first in the dirt with a cracked skull. She had no ID on her. He woke her up. I don't know what happened but he fell for her. Like a bolt of lightning from the sky. She didn't have a clue who she was, where she was or where she was from. All she remembered was she was 18 and knew how to cook. Pretty damn good cook too. Anyway, my brother went to the hospital with her.

The doctor told them she had generalized amnesia. Remembers nothing before waking up with my brother kneeling over her. Doctor told her she had a 1% chance of ever getting any memories back and if she did they would be few and murky at best. My brother stayed with her night and day in the hospital. He left every night after visiting hours ended at 9, worked till 5 AM, slept three hours and was at the hospital when visiting hours started. Like I said, he was in love.

The hospital couldn't keep her any longer. Police couldn't find an ID. I'm guessing something went very wrong there. Anyway, no ID, no identity at all, she was gonna be discharged into a homeless shelter. Bo took her in. She lived with us. Me, Bo and my boy Hunter. We had an extra bedroom. He bought her clothes, he gave her a room. He gave her a job helping out with the books of his business. He even went to a guy and bought her a new ID so she could go to school if she wanted, have a driver's license, have a diploma. The things she needed for a life. Now before you ask and piss me off, no, he didn't sleep with her. He took care of her though. They fell in love. Both of them have it bad. They are inseparable. A couple months ago he asked her to marry him and she said yes to no one's surprise. Now here we are. And you show up with your army of giants. So now I got a dilemma.

I got my sister up there already nervous about everything being perfect for her man today. I got my little brother worried that everything won't be perfect for the love of his life. You crashin back into her life an hour before she is to march down that aisle ain't gonna help things go smoothly.

No know doubt we all got some talkin to do, and I ain't sayin we would dream of keeping her from meeting you. But you need to understand. Right now ain't the best time."

"Charlie, you can't let her marry this guy." Jake said next to me.

"You ain't stopping any wedding. We got a lot of friends who are loyal to both of them and they would shoot you all full of holes and ship your bodies back to Washington in a heartbeat." The girl said, glaring at Jake. I believed her. We weren't stopping this wedding.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why what?"

"Why did your brother do all this for her?"

"She is your daughter. You should know."

I nodded. Bella brought that out in people.

"My brother is a good lookin guy. Has had women after him since he developed muscles and dimples. He owns a successful business where he works for himself and builds the most beautiful wooden furniture you will ever lay eyes on. He has hardly given a woman the time of day his whole life. Said he was waiting for the special one. He found her. Now I promise you, Chief Swan. You are going to need a lot more big Indians if you think you are going to stop this wedding or mess with my sister's happiness in anyway. We worked hard to build her a life and you ain't tearin it down today."

Damn. I didn't know what to say. I looked around and saw everyone had wide eyes except Jake. He looked pissed. Big surprise.

"Look. We won't say anything. Not yet. But please let me watch the wedding. I thought she was dead for so long. Now to find her. You have a child. You understand. Please see this from my point of view. At least let me watch this. I promise not to stop it. I promise. I'm grateful to you and your brother. You have no idea how grateful I am. But please. Let me stay."

She didn't answer. She took a deep breath and looked at the table. I looked at her. I heard a gasp at the other end of the table. I looked at the stairs and saw her. She was wearing a white dress. Strapless. Smooth, no frills. Pure satin. Like it was poured over her. Her hair was in soft braids. She was…oh my God she was beautiful.

"Stephanie! I asked you to check on the caterers! Have they set up? What about the band? Has the band arrived? Is Bo okay? He's not answering my texts."

Stephanie didn't turn around.

"Everything is fine, Mary. Tina and I have this. You just worry about being your beautiful self and all will be fine."

Bella took a deep breath and looked at us. Blank face. No recognition at all.

"Who the hell are these people, Steph?"

BPOV

Steph didn't answer. I don't remember seeing Indian body building team on the guest list.

"Please tell me these aren't dancers from last night that you invited." Please no. The old white guy with the mustache was staring at me.

"Do we know each other? Are you related to Bo?"

He didn't say anything. Was he crying?

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out from between my cleavage this pushup strapless bra has helpfully enhanced and smiled. My man.

"Hey baby."

"Mary, we need to talk." He sounded worried. What the hell?

"Uh, you're not leaving me at the altar are you?" I laughed, half kidding.

"No! Of course not."

"Then what is so important? I'm meeting you at the end of the aisle in twenty minutes, baby."

"Give me the phone, Mary." Steph said standing up and walking over.

"Here. Your sister wants to talk to you. I love you."

I watched her listen to something Bo was saying.

"Your call Bo." Steph finally said.

"Okay." She looked at me and stuck the phone towards me.

"What is going on, Bo? You are freaking me out! I don't need to be freaked out."

"Baby…does the name Bella Swan mean anything to you?"

What the fuck?

"No. I don't know a Bella Swan. Why do you want to know? Is she an ex girlfriend or something? Is she starting shit? Cause I can get Tina and Tiffany and we can…

"No baby. Calm down. Look. Would you just do me a favor? No questions asked."

"A favor? Of course Bo."

"Is there a guy there with a suit on? Mustache? Dark hair?"

"Yes. He is with who I think are strippers Stephanie invited. Except there is a tall girl here. If she is a dancer from last night you are in so much trouble." I whispered.

"I need you to let the guy walk you down the aisle."

Excuse me?

"What the hell Bo?"

"I said no questions. I need you to trust me on this."

"Yeah but…who is he? I don't even know the guy." This was the kind of last minute changes I did not appreciate.

"I will explain after the wedding. Just…please?"

"Is he a friend of yours? Your parents?"

The mustache guy was still staring. Looked like his eyes were getting wet. What the hell?

"Mary. Please? It's important to me. I promise as soon as the wedding is over I will explain who he is."

I took a deep breath and looked at Steph. She shrugged her shoulders. I looked at the clock on the wall. 15 minutes. I had to get ready to walk down the aisle.

"Fine Bo. But you got some explaining to do."

"I love you, Mary."

"I love you too baby. See you in 15. Don't forget your lines."

I hit end on the phone and looked at Steph.

"What the fuck?" I asked.

"What did he say?"

I didn't answer her. Instead I walked towards the guy with the mustache.

"What is your name?"

"Charl…Charlie Swan." He choked out.

"You related to this Bella Swan my husband, or soon to be husband asked me about?"

"Ye…yes."

"Why are these guys staring at me like I'm from another planet? Steph, does my hair look okay? Is there something in my teeth? I had grapes earlier. Adrian checked my teeth."

"You look perfect, Mary." Steph said. Now she was tearing up. Fuck I was going to tear up soon. I hadn't even gotten to the end of the aisle yet.

"We have to go get set up. My man is waiting." I turned and looked at Mr. Swan.

"My Bo thinks it's important that you walk me down the aisle. He told me not to ask questions but he didn't say if you even wanted to? Do you want to walk me down the aisle?"

"Would it be okay?"

"Why do…no, I promised him no questions. You an old family friend?"

"Yes. You could say that."

"Well then Charlie Swan. How about you walk me down the aisle? I got a honeymoon to get to." I smiled. He seemed like a nice guy I guess.

He stood up and took my arm. I turned and looked at his friends.

"Ya'll are welcome to stay of course. Plenty of seats. I think. Let's go Steph."

I walked to the exit. My girls were lined up. I saw outside and could see the guys waiting for the girls. I couldn't see Bo, but considering everyone else was there I'm guessing he was as well. We would walk through the exit down the rose aisle to the Arbor where we would be married.

Finally it was my turn. I was wearing white cowboy boots under my dress. I was used to wearing boots. I wasn't worried about tripping. Of course I could step on my train. It wasn't long and would come off as soon as the ceremony was done but it could trip me up now. I guess Mr. Swan here should be warned.

I whispered to him.

"Don't let me fall."

He grabbed my arm tighter.

"I never will."

That was a strange thing to say. I looked at him and he had tears running down his face. This must have been a good friend of Bo's parents. He was so emotional and he didn't even know me. We began walking and the wedding march was playing. I was taking deep breaths and smiling. I needed to control my breathing. This was it. I wanted him since the first time I laid eyes on him. I thought when I left for that MRI I would never see him again. When he was waiting for me in my room, he made me feel so good, despite the situation I found myself in. Now he was mine. Nobody else's. No one would ever take him from me. There he was. Six short steps away. He was smiling. That beautiful smile. He looked so good in that Tux. Solid white.

"Who gives this woman to this man?"

Huh? Oh yeah. I turned and saw my escort was full on crying now.

"I do." He placed my arm in Bo's and stepped back. Bo had some explaining to do. That was so strange. I didn't care right now. I just had to remember my vows and kiss him.

The preacher welcomed everyone. I took a quick glance. All my close friends were already standing with me and Bo. I guess the rest of the guests were family friends. I wish Bo's parents could be here. Maybe they were. I noticed the group of tan hulks and she hulk were on the back row. An Indian guy in a wheelchair and an older Indian lady were crying. What's with the crying. Mr. Swan had sat down at the front. He was smiling. Crying. I guess some people get emotional at weddings no matter whose wedding it is. One of the Indians looked pissed. Nobody asked him to come. Steph may have. Her and her dancers.

The time came for vows. My turn. Don't screw this up Mary. I took a deep breath. Bo squeezed my hands and smiled. He told me if I forgot something to relax and speak from the heart.

"You found me on the ground. You could have left me there. Instead you took me in, gave me a life. You saved my life. You made me feel loved. You took care of me. You still take care of me. I know I will be safe with you and loved for the rest of our lives. I fell in love with you and now I can't imagine life without you. So you fixed that to and here we are. I love you more than any words would describe. I promise to love, honor and cherish you. I promise to obey you most of the time. In sickness and in health. In this world and the next. I am yours forever."

His eyes were glistening. I got through it. And I meant every word.

I took a deep breath and looked into his beautiful green eyes.

"The first time I saw your eyes, I was caught. I always wanted adventure. You are the adventure I have waited for my whole life. You let me in. You trusted me. You let me in your life. Most importantly you loved me. You will never understand that you do more for me than I have ever done for you. You gave me life. I am yours. I have been since the day we met. I promise to love, honor and cherish you. I promise to obey you most of the time. In sickness and in health. In this world and the next. I am yours forever."

"Do you have the rings?"

Todd handed Bo the gold band that matched my engagement ring. He placed it on my finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."

Steph handed me his gold band. My breath caught and could feel the tears running free down my face.

I slipped it on his finger. Perfect fit. "With this ring I thee wed."

We turned to the minister.

"You may kiss your bride."

I heard the minister present Mr. and Mrs. Bo Walker. I heard applause in the background. I was too focused on my first kiss with my new husband. Lost in him. We finally broke free and our friends hugged us. All my girls were crying. Todd even looked a little misty eyed.

"All right ya'll! Enough of this romantic stuff. Let's go get drunk!" Troy yelled. The guys threw their hats in the air and Bo lifted me in his arms and began carrying me inside. Everyone was clapping. We walked in and saw the buffet line had been set up. The hall was beautiful. The band had set up. Everything was perfect. I kissed Bo again and we may have got a little carried away this time. It was time to party.

Paul POV

This was a kick in the teeth. I bet Rachel is going to say nearly the same vows to me one day. I will probably say the same thing as well. Not because we fell in love like these two. No, it will be because of magic. Magic that turned me into a wolf and magic that gave me my soul mate. So if Rachel was my soul mate why did this hurt so damn much?

"You doing okay?" Sam.

"Of course. Mission accomplished. We found her. Of course she has absolutely no clue who the hell we are, but at least Charlie has her back."

"You were never as good at hiding it as you thought you were." Sam said quietly.

"Hiding what?"

"That you loved her. That you love her. Imprinting can't take that way."

"That right?" I asked quietly.

"Yep."

"You still love Leah?"

"Yep."

"Why don't you fight it? Fight the imprint?"

"You know."

I took a deep breath. It was a violent compulsion to protect your mate. It overrode everything. It was contrived bullshit.

"I never loved Bella."

"Yes, you do."

"Doesn't matter much now does it?" I pointed out.

"No. I don't suppose it does. She looks really happy. I can't believe she is alive. Not only alive but doing so well. I missed her so much. So did Emily. We all did. Even Leah."

"That's not Bella." I told him.

"Of course she is."

"That's not our Bella anymore. Did you see her face when she saw us? I didn't believe that blonde until Bella walked down those stairs. Did you see it? Absolutely no recognition. Nothing. We just saw her get married. In a year she built a better life than she ever had in Forks. She is not ours. Look at her. She belongs to him now. He belongs to her. That's love Sam. That's love without any of the mystical bullshit we have been cursed with."

Sam said nothing so we sat back and watched the party. Dinner had been served. Barbecue. Very good.

Now the band that had been playing quietly in the background suddenly wasn't quiet anymore. Apparently the open bar just opened up. Free beer. My kind of wedding.

"How is Jake doing?" I asked Sam, not really caring much but the lack of conversation was getting to me.

"He left. After she said I do, he was gone. Don't know where he is. I suppose he will be back at the hotel. I thought he would be happy knowing she was alive. But he had this image in his head of Bella rushing into his arms and the two of them running off together to be happy in paradise or something. He will never get over her."

"She brings that out in people." I mumbled.

"Yep."

"Hey did you see those pictures of them at the table in the front when we walked in?" I asked Sam.

"Yep. They look like they have a lot of good times together."

"Did you see that picture of this guy passed out with a pair of red panties on his head?"

Charlie POV

"What are they doing?" I asked Sue.

"I think it's called line dancing."

The party was getting a bit loud. I had hoped Bo would bring Bella over but she was having fun. He looked at me once and I shook my head. It was enough to watch her having fun. Being happy. I suppose I should call Renee. I would in the morning. We didn't talk much anymore. She called occasionally to yell at me or ask if I had any new leads. I told her my beliefs that Bella was alive. She was angry that I let a rapist get her and was convinced Bella was buried in the woods somewhere.

Bo got on the stage. He grabbed a guitar and his friends gathered around the front. Wow. He plays guitar. He started strumming.

Oh.

He couldn't play guitar.

"All right everyone! If you know the words sing along. If you don't know the words get the hell out of our State!"

He began singing. His friends jumped up on the stage and they were all singing. Badly. Something about a drug dealer named Sonny and a waitress named Sherry. Apparently the road goes on forever and the party never ends. Bella was on stage singing with Bo now. Bella doesn't sing very well either. Bella was a bit tipsy. Apparently this was somewhat of a tradition for them. No one seemed surprised by their lack of musical ability. I hoped they weren't leaving for their honeymoon until tomorrow.

Finally the bride and groom dance came. Bo and Bella danced to a song called God bless the broken road. It was nice. Appropriate considering what we all had gone through. There was no father daughter dance. I didn't mind. I got to walk my baby down the aisle. Even if she didn't know me, it was enough. But still. I had to dance with her once.

I walked up to the couple after their dance and looked at Bo. I shook my head. I wouldn't tell her while we were dancing.

"Would you mind if I had a dance?"

"Sure, if you tell me who the hell you are." She smiled.

"How about you dance and we will tell you after the song, okay honey?" Bo asked. I mouthed a thank you. He simply nodded.

"Fine. You got an awesome mustache. Come on old man."

Bella grabbed my hand and we were dancing.

"This is a beautiful wedding."

"Thanks."

"You are a pretty good dancer."

"Bo taught me."

"When are you two leaving on your honeymoon?"

"Uh, tomorrow afternoon, why?"

"Just wondering. How long are you going to be gone?"

"A week. We are going to the Pocano Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania."

"That sounds fun. I figured you would head someplace tropical."

"No the mountain scenery is beautiful. We like to hike, bike ride. I also think Bo is worried about me getting a sunburn."

I had to laugh.

"He seems like he really takes care of you."

"Yeah, but it goes both ways. We take care of each other. So who are you?"

The song ended and I didn't answer. I walked her to where Bo was sitting and sat next to her. Sam walked to the table as well. I looked at Bo.

"Mary. I met this man 45 minutes before the wedding. I didn't want to freak you out so decided to wait to introduce you."

"You let a guy you just met give me away?!" Bella asked Bo not sounding happy.

"Be…Mary…I've bane looking for you for a year. Since the night you left my house." I told her.

I think it hit her then. She stared at me and then stared at Bo. He nodded.

"This is your father." He told her.

A/N

When I first thought of how it was going to go, I honestly didn't expect Charlie to find Bella until after the honeymoon. But…as things happen sometimes in my stories the characters kind of took over. And there was no way after what I put Charlie Swan through, that he wasn't going to walk his little girl down the aisle. I have daughters too, ya know.


	10. Chapter 10

Don't own it

Thanks for all the positive reviews from the last chapter. Made me feel really good. Glad ya'll liked it.

Chapter 10

BPOV

"You're my father?" I…oh my God. I didn't know this man. He's my father?

"Yes Bella." Bella?

"My name…my name is Mary Walker." I told him.

"I know. Your name…the name your mother and I gave you when you were born is Isabella Swan. But you don't like Isabella. You like to be called Bella."

I felt Bo's arm around me and I moved back into him. He always made me feel safer. I didn't feel unsafe now…just a little…I don't know. Weird?

I looked at Bo.

"He told you this before the wedding?"

"Yes." Bo nodded. He looked spooked. Like he was expecting me to explode any second. I needed to calm down. I didn't want him nervous.

"How…why… I mean how did you find me? Why haven't…you've been looking for a year? My fingerprints and picture were at Tyler police…"

I looked back at Bo. He had a strange look on his face.

"Something must have happened, Mary. I guess they got kicked out of the system or never put in. I don't know."

"How did you find me?" I asked, looking back at Charlie Swan.

"You left home and then got taken by a man. A bad man. He hit you over the head and left you on the side of the road. I guess that is where Bo found you."

"How…where are you from? Where was I from? How did…" I was starting to freak out. Bo was whispering to me to calm down. I buried my head in his shoulder.

"Bella…"

"Don't call me that!" I said a bit too loudly. It came out a little sharper than I intended. I looked up and saw all the big guys and the two women and the guy in the wheelchair were around our table.

"Who the hell are these people?"

"They are your friends, Bel…Mary." Charlie answered.

I saw my friends walking up. The ones I actually knew. All of them. They were looking tense.

"No."

"No what, Mary?" Bo asked mumbling in my ear.

"This is my wedding party. I can't…I'm not going to deal with this right now. I am going to have fun. Uh…look Charlie…I mean…shit, I don't know what I mean. Look I don't doubt you are who you say you are but right now…I am going to enjoy my wedding party. Bo and I are leaving in an hour. Bo? Give him our address. Come see us at 8:00 AM. We have to leave for the airport at 12:00. I have a lot of questions…and I'm sure you do too. Just…I…it's not the right time."

"I understand B…Mary."

"Look, I believe you are my Dad. I mean who else would crash a wedding to walk me down the aisle right? But… enjoy the food and stuff. Dance, have fun. I need to… we can deal with the rest tomorrow and when I get back from my honeymoon. I've…my friends have worked too hard to pull this together for us not to enjoy it now, you know? I mean I really want to talk but…"

"I understand Be…I understand. Promise me we can talk in the morning?" He asked. Like I could turn him down. I was afraid of what I would find out though. This was so…weird.

"Yeah. Sure. Uh…do I have a mom? I mean I know I have a mom but is she like, alive?"

"Yes. Your mother lives in Florida."

"Does she know…you found me?"

"Not yet. I just found you. Things have been crazy. We wouldn't have made it here if Leah didn't see your picture in the wedding section of the paper today."

"Oh. I like that picture." It was a stupid thing to say but what else was there to say.

"Okay. Bo take me dancing. Then I have to toss my bouquet and you get to do the garter thing."

I stood up and walked away with Bo's hand grasped firmly in mine. The guy crashed my wedding to walk me down the aisle. I don't understand what happened. But he was my father. I stopped and turned around. He was still looking at me.

"You uh…you want to hug me?"

"You wouldn't mind?" He had tears in his eyes now. Damn it! He was going to make me cry.

"No." I whispered. Damn it now I was crying.

He practically ran to me. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed my tight. I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe. He finally let me go. I looked in his eyes and saw it. The same eyes that had been looking back at me in the mirror.

"We have the same eyes."

"Yeah." He said wiping his eyes. "Believe it or not, your mother has blonde hair and blue eyes." He laughed.

I laughed as well. I don't know why but it seemed funny. I looked at Bo and he was smiling.

"Let's have fun okay? Enjoy this. We are leaving soon but I'm sure our friends can keep you all entertained. We will figure this out in the morning." He nodded and I turned back to my husband. Damn it felt good to call him that.

"You okay?" He asked after he led me to the dance floor.

"Yeah. We just…aren't going to worry about this right now. This is our night."

"Whatever you want baby."

"Bo, thanks. For getting me to let him take me down the aisle."

"Are you mad I didn't tell you?"

"No! I'm glad you didn't. It would have been too much. I have to compartmentalize this."

"Compartmentalize?"

"Yes. Big word, I know. That's why I am the brains and you are the talent of our operation."

"Okay, okay. You ready to throw the flower thing?"

"Yes. You ready to slip the garter off my leg?"

"Damn right."

"Bo, you need to be careful when you lift my dress."

"Why?"

"Because I took off my panties about an hour ago and slipped them in your coat pocket. I didn't want to wait till we got home. I was thinking the limo would be the perfect place to consummate our marriage." I whispered in his ear.

"What do you say we throw that damn flower thing and get the hell out of here?"

We finished our dance and walked up to the stage. Bo ran his hand up the inside of my thigh when he slipped my garter off. I shivered then felt weird, remembering my father was in the crowd. Bo flipped my garter and Teddy caught it. I tossed my bouquet and Stephanie caught it. We ran outside through a shower of rice. It all happened so fast. I couldn't stop laughing. Right before I ducked in and saw Charlie holding the older Indian woman's hand. He was still crying. I guess I could see where I got it from. We were both emotional people. Strange. I gave him a little wave and Bo pulled me into the limo.

The door closed and he hit the intercom.

"Driver it is twenty minute to our home. I'll give you an extra fifty if you can make it an hour." He said, smiling.

"It's on me sir. Have a nice time" The divider slid closed and we were alone.

"So are you really okay?" Bo asked me.

"Not tonight Bo. This is our night. Don't talk about it."

"You met your father tonight. I mean…again?"

"Yeah. And we will talk to him tomorrow. Right now let's see how bad Daddy's little girl can be." Nothing was getting in my way tonight. I unbuttoned his pants and there was Petruchio. He slid my top down and then slid my dress up. I straddled his waist and kissed him.

"You really did put your panties in my pocket, didn't you?"

"I wouldn't lie to you baby. Now make love to your wife."

He smiled and I felt him slide inside me. This whole bridal thing had me turned on I really didn't need foreplay. He had that effect on me.

Charlie Swan would be there in the morning. Tonight Bo was mine.

Charlie POV

"So that went well. Better than I expected." Sue commented casually.

"She doesn't know me Sue."

"She will get to know you. Just be patient. You found her. She is alive. Be happy."

"I am. I don't know. It's not how I expected our reunion would be."

"How did you expect it to be?"

"I imagined she would have known me." I laughed a little. I was so wired. But my little girl…who I thought was dead. She just got married.

"Let's go sit down. Take a breath and then we can all head back to the Hotel."

I nodded my head and let her lead me to the table. Everyone was talking among themselves, no doubt about the reunion with Bella.

The conversations stopped when I sat down.

"Don't be quiet because of me guys."

Sam smiled. "Sorry. This has just been sort of a surreal night. I guess especially for you. I called Emily and she was crying tears of joy that we found Bella and then I had to explain to her that Bella has absolutely no memories of any of us. She is…concerned."

"Concerned?" I asked him.

"Freaking the fuck out may be a better description." Sam admitted.

"Jake leave?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. He texted me twenty minutes ago. He is at the hotel."

"How is he doing?" I knew this would be bad when I saw the wedding announcement. Jake has done a lot for me. Letting me know the truth, killing the red head. Searching with me. That boy was and always will be completely in love with Bella. Unfortunately for him she didn't see him that way before she lost her memories.

"He will be…he is confused. He just found out the love of his life is alive and he promptly watched her get married after showing absolutely no recognition when seeing him. He is caught between extreme joy and heartbreak. It will take time."

"She looked happy didn't she? I mentioned to no one in particular.

"She is happy." I looked up and saw three of the guys who stood in the wedding. They all were wearing cowboy hats, blue jeans and still had their tuxedo shirts and jackets on. All had a mug of beer in their hand. None of them looked happy to see us. The rest of the wedding party walked up behind them. Girls and guys.

"I could see that." I said to the man who had spoken.

He sat down straddling a chair and sticking his hand out.

"My name is Todd. Charlie Swan right?"

"Yes." I replied taking his hand.

"I would say it is a pleasure to meet you all but I'm not sure yet. You see me and Bo go back to the sand box days. We been best friends forever. Now Bo, he is the nicest guy imaginable. He worships the ground Mary walks on. But he's got a fierce protective streak over those he loves. Couple years ago his sister's husband beat the hell out of her and pulled a knife. Bo came running up. Guy pointed the knife on Bo. Bo put him in intensive care for a week. We are pretty sure he would have the same reaction if anyone tried to hurt Mary."

"Who the hell do you think…you think I would hurt her?" Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

"Nope. But I don't trust your friends here. The one Chris had to aim a shotgun at earlier. I noticed him scowling during the wedding. I saw him take off. I don't trust him. Boy got jealousy written all over him. Just so you know we all live around each other out at Hide a Way. Some of us are going to be at their house tonight carryin on the little party. So we will be around. I don't know how many of your posse here is gonna go tomorrow morning but they are leaving on their honeymoon. You best not go upsetting Mary and have your little army here on its best behavior. We understand each other?"

"Yeah we understand each other." Sam replied, glaring. Usually Sam's glare could make anyone back down. These little shit heads were laughing.

"That's good. We would hate for there to be any Smith County suicides around here." The one on Todd's right side said.

"What the hell is a Smith County suicide?" I asked.

"It's when an Out of Towner kills himself by shooting himself in the back four times. You boys enjoy the rest of the party. It's about to be closing up. Don't get us wrong. We are glad you found Mary and all. But don't be fucking up her happiness. Be a part of it. Not an enemy to it. That's all we are sayin. See you boys in the morning."

The group, five guys and five girls and Bo's sister walked off and headed back to the bar.

"Interesting people here in Texas." Paul commented quietly.

That's an understatement.

"Excuse me. Is there a Charlie Swan here?" An attendant asked, walking up.

"I'm Charlie Swan."

"A gentleman asked me if you and your party would meet him in the gardens. He said it was important."

I looked at Sam. He nodded and we stood. I looked at Sue.

"I don't know what is going on. Stay here with Billy. Embry would you stay with them?"

"Yeah Chief."

I walked out to the garden and saw no one. Then Sam's nose flared.

"What is it?"

"Get behind me, Charlie."

Sam and the rest of the Pack marched in front of me straight past the spot Bella was married. I struggled to keep up. They stopped and tensed up. I walked to the front, brushing Sam's arm away and saw him.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"The name is Peter Whitlock. We need to have a talk."

Peter POV

I looked and saw the dogs all fired up and ready to get the fur flyin. Char walked up beside me.

"You boys are going to want to calm down. One you ain't got no clothes to change into and two you are going to need more shapeshifters to take me and the missus here out. We ain't no stupid newborns like you guys are used to."

"What are you doing here?" Mary's dad asked.

"That's a good question. If you would all settle down we can talk. But until you get settled I ain't gonna be settled. That means we are gonna stand here wasting time staring at each other."

"I'm listening." The chief of police said. Figured he would be the calm one. Like his daughter. Ain't scared of shit.

"Like I said, my name is Peter Whitlock. This is my wife Charlotte. She don't talk much. She was turned into a vampire while PMSing and it carried over."

Ow! Char slapped me in the head. Here I was, tryin to be intimidating and she had to go do that.

"Anyway. I'm the guy who gave your girl her new identity."

"I thought Bo bought her one." Swan said looking at me suspicious like. I guess I am a vampire.

"He did. From me. Actually I gave it to them for free."

"Why would you do that?" The big pack leader asked.

"You know about vampire powers. Of course you know about the Cullens. I'm not sure if I got a power or not. But I got instincts sometimes that tell me what I need to do. My instincts told me I needed to help this girl. I should probably start at the beginning. Ya'll thing you can shut up that long?"

Most of them nodded so I took that as a cue to go ahead.

"The guy who turned me into a vampire is named Jasper. You know him as Jasper Hale or Jasper Cullen. Anyway we keep in contact. He has been letting me in on what has been going on with the Cullens the past couple years. Mostly what has happened between that piece of shit Edward Cullen and your lovely daughter. We were told she disappeared. When she came to our place that night with her man we saw the scar on her wrist and we knew immediately who she must be."

"So you called Jasper and told him?" the Pack leader said.

"Nope."

"No?"

"Nope. I think what they did to that girl was absolute bullshit. Humans don't belong in this world. That is knowledge they don't need. However I knew if the Cullens thought she was alive the Italians would know it too. They wouldn't rest until she is dead or turned into our kind. Well I ain't gonna let that happen. She has no knowledge of our kind. It needs to stay that way. I have been watching over her for a while now. I haven't contacted her and I never will. Can't take the chance that Alice Cullen may get a vision of that. Everything was going great until you showed up. I'm glad the girl has her daddy and all but you are going to have to lie to her."

"I'm not lying to my daughter." Swan said.

"You better. She don't need to know what she used to know. She is happy. You saw that. I'm doing my damndest to make sure no vampires find her. Especially the Cullens. Cause with them comes the Italians and trust me folks that is trouble none of us need. But she is smart. She figured this whole thing out once before. She starts seeing a bunch of six and a half foot males running around howling at the moon she is gonna know something is up. She hid secrets to protect you once Chief Swan. It's time you hid some secrets to protect her."

No one said a word. I guess they was digesting this.

"I wasn't planning on telling her." Swan said finally.

"Didn't say you were. But here is the thing. You have to be careful. If she comes to Forks to visit, you and your pack of wolfs here are gonna have to make sure the Cullens aren't around. Any sign that she may be alive and they are gonna be on her like stink on shit. I'm doing my part by avoiding Jasper and making sure he stays the hell away from this state. But she is gonna be askin questions. The number one question is why she felt the need to leave in the middle of the night to run away. What was she running from? Why it was so dangerous she felt her chief of police father couldn't protect her. She may not be the same girl you knew but she is still smart as hell. You need to come up with some good lies."

"I'm confused. What the hell does this have to do with you?" The pack leader asked.

"I told you. I thought what the Cullens did was bullshit."

"So? You are a vampire. You may have thought it was bullshit but what do you really care?"

"What is your name?"

"Sam Uley."

"Sam, I admit I am a stone cold killing machine. I can kill damn near anything. Humans, shapeshifters, werewolves or vampires. But that don't mean I don't have a heart. I decided I am going to protect that girl from our kind without her knowledge and you are going to all have to do the same. She doesn't need to know."

"That's it? You have a heart, so you just decided you were going to protect her?" Swan asked.

"That and something else. Remember I told you that I sometimes just know things? I don't know much about her other than what I learned from Jasper but my instincts are talking to me and I always listen. They are telling me she is worth it. So, long story short, if it isn't too late for that, you spend the night coming up with some good lies, Charlie Swan. You get your dogs together and make sure they keep their mouths shut. Especially the little big boy with the broken heart back at ya'lls hotel. We all got each other?"

They nodded so I turned to Charlotte and we took off. I hoped they had their shit together when they met that little girl in the morning. That kid has been too smart for her own good. It's time they protected her a little from her nosey self.

Charlie POV

"So that was weird." I said.

No one said anything so I guess they agreed.

"A vampire wants to protect Bella from the Cullens and stay out of her life." I continued to no one in particular.

"He's right." Sam said.

"Did you just say a vampire was right?"

"I hate to admit it but yes. I wasn't sure how much to tell her. How we would explain her taking off. But he is right. She does not know any thing and it needs to stay this way. She has a chance at a supernatural free life. But we have to get our stories straight."

"I don't know Sam. I didn't like finding out things that were kept from me."

"But she did it. She did it to protect you. Your turn, Charlie." Leah said, walking up behind me.

We went back to the Hotel. Jake was sitting on the steps outside the room and smiled when we walked in. He stood up and hugged me. He was a little red eyed. He had been crying.

"I'm so happy for you Charlie." He whispered as he hugged me.

"Be happy for both of us son. I know you didn't want…I mean."

"No Charlie. It just kind of hit me by surprise. She is alive and safe. That's what matters."

I nodded and walked off. He sat back down. Billy patted his shoulder as Sue rolled him by Jake.

We all went to our rooms and settled in for the night. After twenty minutes I heard the knock on my door and opened it to let Sue in. She never said a word. She let me hold her. I was scared and confused. But I also felt relief. Tomorrow I would be with Bella. Tomorrow I would get to tell Renee that Bella was alive. I had found her. I drifted off to sleep at peace for the first time since she left.

5:15 and I was up. Sue woke up and went to her room to get dressed. 15 minutes later I was in the parking lot. So was everyone else. Bella said 8. We would find the place and wait for 8 AM.

We took our two rental vans out to the middle of nowhere. Finding their house was pretty easy. Not a lot of homes in the area. It was a nice brick home. The yard was nice. There was a big shed in the back. Bigger than a garage. That must be where Bo works. It was 6 AM. I thought I would get out and stretch my legs. Apparently everyone thought they would get out and stretch their legs. I was prepared to wait until I heard a power tool being operated in the shed. I walked along the side of the house almost tripping on the ground. I looked down and …what the fuck?

I shook my head and carried on. Turning into the opening I saw Bella at a desk in a robe filling out some sort of forms. I looked and saw Bo, running a belt sander…in his boxers…with a pair of what looked to be women's underwear on his head. Bella looked up and saw us.

"Bo!"

The power tool shut off and Bo turned around.

"Mornin Charlie! Everyone. We weren't expecting you all till 8. We had to get some last minute work done before we left."

"You work in your boxers?" I asked.

"Sometimes." He was smiling. I was disturbed.

"Are those…?"

"Your daughter's panties on my head? Yes sir."

"How are you working this morning. After last night?" Sam asked.

Bo shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, party hard, work hard. That's our motto, right baby?"

"Bo, this would probably be a good time to go ahead and take my underwear off your head and go put on some clothes."

"Bell…Mary, did you two know there is a body on the side of your house? A naked guy in the grass?"

"Did he have makeup on and I love dick written on his forehead?"

"Yes."

"That's Chris. Don't mind him. He will be up in a couple hours and find his clothes. Now since we are all here why don't we go in and have some coffee and breakfast. Than you can tell me what I have been wondering."

"What is that?" I asked, scared to know.

"I'm wonderin what made me leave your house in the first place so I could get taken by someone."


	11. Chapter 11

Don't own it

Chapter 11

Charlie POV

"Why don't we go inside and I will answer all your questions." Guess the vampire was right. Oh that's right. He knows stuff.

"Okay." Bella looked at us. Everyone. Everyone helped so I thought it would be right that everyone came to see her. But this may have been a bad idea. Having 6 wolves, Billy and Sue could be a little intimidating. Maybe that's the wrong word. Bella walked in front of us. I whispered to not eat more than a normal person. She didn't hear me but the pack would.

We walked in a back porch sliding door to a pretty spacious living room. The kitchen was to the right and had a full view of the living room. There was a dining area on the other side of the kitchen. A hallway lead to what must be the bedrooms.

"Ya'll have a seat. There are some foldout chairs in that closet if you need them. I got to put on some clothes and help Bo with breakfast before he burns the kitchen down. Make yourselves at home."

Bella walked down the hall. I hear her say something and then Bo walked out, wearing blue jeans, boots and a plain white t shirt.

"So…you're early." He said, smiling.

"What time did you two get up?" I asked.

"I usually get up around 5 or 530 and start work. Mary is right after me. She makes breakfast and coffee and brings it out. We eat in our office and then get after it until Lunch. After that is our time unless I got a lot of orders to fill."

"Okay. You two are leaving at noon?"

"Yep. Hey I know your name Charlie but I don't know if I remember the rest. Care to introduce us?"

"Of course. I turned and saw that Leah, Seth and Embry were sitting on the floor. Sam, Jake and Paul were on a very large couch. Sue was next to me on a love seat. Bo had a seat on what I guess was his recliner. Bella walked in and climbed on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. Strange to see that.

I introduced everyone. Everyone smiled. Even Jake. He was quiet this morning but seemed to be better than last night.

"So I guess you got some questions. Your sister in law explained to me how you and Bo met. I guess a little of what has been going on. I have to say first Bo that you will never know how grateful I am that you did what you did for her."

"Yeah, I really would have been fucked without Bo." Bella commented casually. Quite a few mouths including mine dropped. I don't think I had ever heard Bella utter a curse word.

"Uh, yes, that is what I understand. So I guess we should get started since you have to leave in a few hours."

"Yes and I still have a few things to pack." She whispered.

"Okay. I guess I will start at the beginning since you don't remember anything."

Bella nodded, not saying a word.

"Your mother's name is Renee. I plan on calling her right after you leave. She and I divorced when you were two and the two of you moved to Phoenix Arizona, pretty much where you grew up. We lived in Forks Washington. It's a small town. It rains a lot. You didn't like it. I would bring you to stay with me for a few weeks every summer but as you got older you insisted we meet in California. You really didn't like it in Forks. Just like your mom I guess.

When you were 17 you moved to Forks, because your mother married a minor league baseball player and she wanted to travel with him. She stayed at home with you but you felt that you were holding her back. Most of your life you took care of her. She wasn't the most responsible person but you two had a very close relationship. You were the one who kept her grounded. As much as you hated Forks you wanted her to be happy, so you came to live with me. She moved to Florida. You attended Forks high your junior year. You met a boy. His name was Edward…"

"Edward what?" she asked.

"Edward…"I looked at Sam and he nodded. "Cullen" I said his name like a curse. I suppose it was.

"Okay."

"You two became pretty close. He was your first boyfriend, I guess you could say."

"Okay." Bella nodded.

"He left you two weeks into your Senior Year. His family moved. It caught you off guard."

She said nothing so I continued. This was going to be difficult. I hated this but it had to be done.

"You were pretty upset. You eventually got over it with the help of your friends here." I motioned to the Pack. "You and Jake were best friends." I nodded at Jake who was looking at the floor.

"So that is why they came with you? We were all close?" The guys and Leah nodded.

Bella started softly crying. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I don't remember any of you."

"Hey baby…it's okay…" Bo whispered to her and pulled her closer. She curled up in his lap. It was strange seeing my daughter in such an intimate position with anyone. She was never the kind to show her emotions. Just like me. I guess the last year had changed us in more ways than just her losing her memory.

"Hey, Bella." She just shot me a not so nice look. "I mean Mary…look that it going to take some getting used to. You have to cut me some slack here kid."

She nodded. "You're right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I know this is strange for all of us." I told her softly. I didn't want to upset her.

"Go on. My friends helped me get over this guy. What happened next?"

"The guy came back. Your ex. He was…obsessive. He wanted you to run off with him. You turned him down. The way he left you…he said some pretty mean things to you. You told him you didn't want anything to do with him. I found out later that he threatened you if you didn't run off with him. You were frightened so you packed your bags and ran off in the night."

"No."

Damn it.

"What do you mean?" I asked, already knowing.

"Bo told me you are the Chief of Police in this Forks. Why would I run from my Dad who was chief of police because some teenage boy threatened me? That makes no sense."

Okay.

"I talked to Edward afterward. He admitted to telling you that he would hurt me and your mother if you didn't run off with him. His family had a lot of money. I suppose you were worried he may actually hurt her. You left a note, telling him you never wanted to see him again and you were never coming back."

"Why didn't you just arrest him?"

I took another deep breath. I hated this.

"I didn't know at the time this was going on. I didn't realize how scared you were of him. You never told me. I think that you thought you were protecting me and your mother by leaving."

Bella said nothing for a moment.

"What happened next?" Maybe she bought it. The story was full of holes and I would have to come up with something to fill those holes but for now, maybe she bought it.

"You uh…"

"No wait."

Shit.

"If he left me and said horrible things to me, why would he want me back so badly, months later?"

"He decided he didn't want anyone else to have you. He had mental issues." That wasn't a lie.

"Okay. What happened next?"

"We didn't know where you went. What direction. You took your purse, what little money you had, some clothes and your old truck. I investigated Cullen and his family for months. I was convinced they had something to do with your disappearance. Then…"

"Then what?"

"Your truck was found on the side of the road in Indiana. It was burned. Your ID, your clothes, your purse. Everything was still in the truck. Your license plates had been taken so the truck took a while to identify. We thought you were dead. It was obvious you had been taken by someone. I searched the national databases, hoping your picture or name or fingerprints would turn up. Months went by and I had nothing. Then the FBI called me. They had caught a man. A serial rapist in the act. He drove all over the country. He would see a girl alone at a gas station. Sabotage her vehicle, usually by cutting the fuel line. He saw you and cut your fuel line. They found your license plates in his car. You ran out of gas on the side of the road. He took you at gunpoint and kept you for three days in the trunk of his car or in the backseat tied up. After three days he tried to rape you on the side of a back road. You fought him off. Hurt him. Scarred his face. He hit you with a lead pipe over your head. Dragged you into the woods. He planned to rape you but cars started driving by. He got nervous and drove off, leaving you in the woods. That is where Bo found you. I talked to the guy. The FBI let me. He told me he was high but could remember leaving you near pine trees somewhere in East Texas or Louisiana. I came with Jake and we searched all of East Texas, putting up posters, checking with police. Nothing. I began coming up the last weekend of the month to search. When I wasn't here your friends here came in pairs to search. Then Paul and Embry found you."

Bella looked at Paul and Embry.

"Where?"

"Holy shit." Bo whispered.

"What?"

"Remember when we were leaving Dairy Queen in Whitehouse and I pointed out the big guys in the parking lot?"

"Oh yeah. You saw me then?"

"We saw you but you had already pulled away. We lost you before we could get on the road." Paul replied. Why was he lying?

I caught his eye and then remembered. He couldn't exactly tell her that he recognized her scent and confirmed it off a ketchup packet.

"So then what?" Bella asked.

"We all came down. We were here the last two days to search all the local communities. We actually were planning on coming to Hide a Way when Leah saw your picture in the paper yesterday morning. You know the rest."

Bella was quiet for a moment. Bo was as well.

"So let me get this straight. I got dumped by my first boyfriend who said some horrible things to me. He comes back months later and says he wants me to run off or he will hurt you and my mother. Instead of going to you, the Chief of Police and my father, I ran off. I then got kidnapped by a serial rapist who hit me on the head and left me in Texas. I got all that?"

"Yes."

"Have I always had this bad of luck?"

The Pack laughed a little and then stopped when they saw she wasn't joking.

"Not really. Not before you met Edward Cullen." I told her honestly.

"Okay." Bella was silent. She then stood up. "Breakfast is ready. There are some paper plates and plastic utensils on the cabinet. I'm not washing dishes this morning and Steph will leave them in the sink till I get back. So let's all eat and then you can explain one other thing."

"What would that be Be…Mary?"

She raised her arm.

"How the hell I got this scar on my wrist that is cold all the time and looks like teeth marks."

Damn it.

Bo POV

Everyone grabbed plates except Mary and I. We weren't hungry and I wasn't sure there would be enough. We would stop and grab a couple bacon, egg and cheese biscuits from McDonalds on the way out.

I was curious about that scar myself. It wasn't normal. It was cold all the time. It did look like teeth marks but they looked human. If someone like this Cullen boy bit her like that, I was gonna have to spend some time finding the little son of a bitch. I may have to anyways if he ever got a whiff that Mary might be alive. I wonder if that Whitlock guy we got her ID from would help me?

Charlie and some of the other guys were walking around eating and looking at the pictures on our walls. I walked up to see which one they were staring at.

The lady, Sue, was staring at Mary's photo. Mary walked up beside me.

"These deer are beautiful Bella…I mean…"

"It's okay, Sue. I am proud of that picture. I worked really hard to get it."

"Yeah. I was supposed to kill that monster buck but Mary talked me out of it and took pictures instead."

Last time she ever goes hunting with me. Although she did make up for it in the stand. Mary. Deer stand. Cute camo jacket. Camo pants and boots on the floor next to her. Naked legs wrapped around my waist. Her ass may have been freezing but she was hot where it counted.

"Yes Sue. It was very cold that morning. Very cold. We were about two hundred yards away from the deer. It was so cold. Did I mention it was cold? Because it was. Certainly not the place you would want to find yourself without pants on for instance, right Bo? We had a space heater in the stand but it did us absolutely no good." Mary said, glaring at me. "I had to pretty much give it all I had for that photo. Cold and everything." She was still glaring.

"Yeah. If the National Geographic photographer would have let me kill that buck, then we could have been home a lot sooner and she wouldn't have had to be so…cold." I said, glaring back.

"Well it is very nice you didn't kill the deer Bo. The family is beautiful. "

"Yes ma'am. It turned out to be worth it. You know, just to see Mary happy." I smiled at the memory and pulled her closer to me.

"Yep. That's my husband. Always so selfless. Doing something so nice and not wanting anything in return."

Mary's fake smile has always been better than mine. With her you have no doubt it is fake. Almost a form of non passive aggressive sarcasm. I should use that later. Show her she ain't the only one who can use big words.

"So if everyone is finished, could someone tell me what the hell this bite is?" Mary asked.

No one said anything. Charlie and Jake were looking at each other.

"Would you believe it's an animal bite?" Embry spoke up. I didn't think the boy could talk. Charlie and Jake were looking at him with faces that said why don't you shut the fuck up. No wonder the kid never talked.

"No. I know teeth marks. Not this hard of course to where it scars but I have seen teeth marks. Bo bit me on the as…you know what? It really doesn't matter. How did I get human teeth marks on me? I know ya'll ain't tellin me the whole truth here. I may have lost 17 years of memory but I'm not stupid."

"Did you just say ya'll ain't?" Paul asked her holding in a grin.

"Fine. You all are not telling me the whole truth. You spend a year living here and see how you talk." Bella said, with an annoyed look. She doesn't like being reminded that she is becoming more of a redneck every day.

"Fine. Edward Cullen did more than threaten Charlie and Renee. He hit you sometimes. Sometimes he beat the hell out of you. And he bit you once. He tore into your wrist when you tried to hold him back. Okay?" Jake answered.

Yep. I was definitely finding Mr. Edward Cullen.

"Oh…" Mary whispered.

I caught a look Charlie gave Jake. He either didn't want Mary to know about the abuse or what Jake just said, he wasn't aware of. Course there is the possibility this Jake guy just spoke absolute bullshit. Judging by the way he was looking at my wife when he thought I wasn't looking, I bet he was jealous of this Cullen guy too. I don't know what the truth is. I might never know. Might be better not to know. I'm gonna have to think on this some.

"Okay. So are you going to call my mother?" Mary asked her father.

"Yes. As soon as we are done here."

"She gonna want to come see me?"

'Yes. I will have to hide your honeymoon location from her or she would intrude on it." Charlie told her smiling.

"Okay. Are you…heading back?"

"Yes. We are all going home today. I would like to be able to keep in touch. Call, talk. That sort of thing."

"Of course."

"You think maybe, you would like to come see my…where we lived together?"

"I don't know."

"My wife would love to see you Be…Mary." Sam said gently. Almost like he was begging.

"Why?"

"You were her best friend."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess…" Mary looked at me and I nodded.

"I mean, I will probably need to see my Mother. And then we have to get some orders filled and delivered when we get back. But after that, yeah…when we catch up we will come see Forks."

"Okay. Sounds good." Sam said smiling.

"I appreciate what all of you have done. I want to get to know you all…again. I'm sorry. I'm thinking about this from your point of view. It sounds like I went through a tough time and you were all there for me and now you find me and I…I mean it's like you are all complete strangers to me. I'm sorry. I know it must be disappointing. I uh…I don't know what to say here." Mary finally stopped. The Sam guy stood up and approached Mary.

"I don't give a damn if you remember me or not. It is enough that you are alive. I always saw you as my little sister. I love you. We all do. It is a miracle knowing you are alive and happy. Now give me a hug and we will let you get on with your honeymoon." Sam opened his arms. Mary had tears in her eyes again. She hugged him and was engulfed in his arms. Big guy, that Sam. Hell they were all big. Weird. I mean what are the odds of there being that many people in the tribe who look like big body builders? I'm actually looking forward to going to this Forks place. I'm curious if they are all that big.

"Thank you Sam." Mary sniffled out.

Charlie stood and shook my hand.

"I'll never be able to repay you for what you have done."

"I got her. That's everything." I told him. He understood.

They all hugged Mary and walked out. I followed them out and was unsurprised to see Troy and Todd sitting on the hoods of their trucks smiling as we all filtered out.

"Mornin." Todd said, tipping his beat up straw hat. He needs to burn that thing already. I could smell it from here.

"Everything is fine guys."

"Course it is Bo. We just came to pick Chris up. He should be waking up any minute." Todd wasn't much of a liar.

"Mary!" Chris yelled from the side of the house.

"Yeah Chris?"

Chris walked out with a trash can in front of him.

"I can't find my clothes." He said, stating the obvious.

"Did you check the roof?" Mary asked, rolling her eyes.

"No. Fucking Adrian."

"Ladders in the shed, Chris. Get after it."

"Alright Mary. Mornin Bo."

"Mornin Chris." I nodded. He ran to the back, ass showing, so I turned around to my departing guests. They were staring at Chris.

"Does that happen a lot?" Charlie asked.

"Well, the boy has a habit of getting naked and passing out every time he gets shit faced. Been doing it since our sophomore year in High School. And Adrian's been writing I love Dick on his forehead that long as well. He never learns. The makeup just started last year. Adrian started going to cosmetology school and well…I guess he is an easy practice dummy."

Charlie nodded and wrapped Mary in another hug. They finally broke up and I saw a few tears on Mary's face and Charlie's. I watched them drive off in their two big vans and saw Troy and Todd getting in their trucks.

"Guys. Leave them alone."

"But Bo…" Troy started.

"No."

I turned and saw my angel.

"You ready to head to the mountains?"

"Lead the way." Mary replied wiping her eyes.

Charlie POV

"He bit her while he was beating her Jake?" I didn't like the guy either. Hated him. But we could keep the lies to a minimum.

"He sucked out the venom so technically Cullen's teeth were the last ones on her wrist." Jake mumbled.

I looked at Sue. She knew what I was thinking. She nodded. I knew she would understand. It would hurt to leave her but…

"I'm coming with you. If you will have me." She whispered.

Damn.

I never expected that.

"Going where Mom?" Leah asked.

I went ahead and answered. "Guys there is no way I just found my daughter and plan to go back to Forks to live after thinking she was dead. I'm going to drop you all off at the airport and then go talk to some people. I made a few friends around here while searching for Bella. I'm going to find a job this week. I'm moving here."

"And I am moving with him, Leah."

"Mom?" Seth said, shocked.

"You two know we love each other. Seth you can come with me or stay with Leah. The house is paid and Billy said the tribe will take care of the bills, Leah.

"Mom, you can't leave. You are an elder!" Leah said. I was still processing this.

"Charlie and I love each other. We have been doing a poor job of hiding it. The house is yours Leah. I will go back and put Charlie's house up for sale. Then I am coming back to be with him."

"Are you sure, Mom?" Leah whispered.

"Yes Leah. You don't need me. But Charlie does. We can't expect him to be away from his daughter after all this time. She isn't going to come back to Forks to live. So we will come to her. Seth, I already talked to Jake about this. The decision is yours. If you are old enough to fight vampires you are old enough to decide if you want to live here with me or stay in La Push with your sister. I love you no matter what. I want you with us but I won't force you."

"Sue, are you sure?" I asked. This was a little too much to hope for.

"It will be a fresh start for us Charlie. Yes. I am sure."

"Okay. Let me work on getting a job this week and a place to live and I will be back next Saturday to pack up our things. We are going to have to drive here."

"I know." She reached across and took my hand.

"When did you talk to Billy?"

"When we found out where Bella was. I've been planning this for a while. I knew you would want to stay near her. I wouldn't expect anything else."

"You could have talked to Seth and I, Mom." Leah said. She didn't sound angry.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bring it up until we found her. I thought it might be bad luck I guess you could say."

"It's fine Mom. We understand, don't we, Leah?" Seth said.

"Seth. Do you want to move with us? With the Cullens gone…" I asked.

"I don't know, Mom. Can I have a little time to think about it?"

"Of course, Seth."

"I want to move too, Mom. I want to move with you. If I wouldn't be crowding you and Charlie. I can get a job and eventually get my own place." Leah said.

I looked at Jake. He was staring out the window.

"Jake?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm giving you an elder and two wolves Charlie. You better make sure that daughter of yours comes to visit us."

I nodded. Sue was smiling.

"Guess that means I'm coming too. I don't want to be away from you and Leah, Mom." Seth smiled.

Holy shit. I suddenly had 3 people who were going to be living with me. I honestly figured I would be coming alone.

Paul started laughing. "I don't know what the big deal is. I can't wait to get out of this State. Even the vampires sound like hicks here. I couldn't understand half of what that leech was saying last night."

We laughed. A lot different mood than when we came here.

Embry raised his hand. I guess we really didn't let him get many words in.

"You don't have to raise your hand to speak, Embry." I told him.

"Cool. I was just wondering. Did Bella say her husband bit her ass once?"


	12. Chapter 12

Don't own it

A/N Glad ya'll seem to be still enjoying it. A few are still unclear about the whole picture fingerprint card thing from Chapter 1 or 2. The technician had her photo and then the gang guy had his twelve. After lunch he picked up both but the gang guy came in and knocked it from the techs hand. Hers slid under a file cabinet. He didn't feel like getting down and counted twelve photos in his hand so he thought that was it and her picture and prints stayed under the file cabinet. Trust me folks. Crap like that happens. I did an internship at Tyler PD once. As far as Charlie moving, I can only imagine that God forbid something like that happened to one of my kids, you better believe I wouldn't be staying on the other side of the country after I found them.

BPOV

"I've never flown before. This is so neat."

"You mean you don't remember flying before." Bo winked.

"Whatever. One and the same isn't it? Stop bringing that up. Next thing you know, you will be calling me Bella." That would be too weird.

"Do you want to be called Bella?"

"No!" that was quick. I kind of surprised myself.

"Why not? It's your actual name." Bo seemed surprised.

"No. Bella Swan died on the side of a road. I woke up a different person. The woman I am now never would have ran from an ex boyfriend. I'd just shoot him in the ass with a shotgun. It sounds like Bella Swan wasn't the brightest girl in the world. I don't want to be her anymore. My name is Mary Walker. I have the identification to prove it. Plus Mary Walker graduated High School with a perfect GPA. I don't think Bella Swan graduated High School." I smiled.

"What about your father? You mother? You are going to have a relationship with them, right?" He was worried. I could tell when he was worried. I guess losing his parents, he was happy I could have mine.

"Of course. But they live in Florida and Washington. It's not like I am going to see them often."

"Good point. I wouldn't be surprised to see your Dad and Mom visit a lot though."

"Maybe at first, but then things will get into a routine. It will be okay."

"I'm not worried Mary. I think it would be great for you to see them a lot. You may have two identities in this life but you are only going to have one set of parents."

"If I agree and say you are absolutely right honey, would you shut up about it?"

"Maybe." He replied shrugging his shoulders.

"You're absolutely right, honey."

"Glad you see it that way, darlin."

"Look! A plane is landing!"

"Yeah. Pretty neat huh?" He was rolling his eyes.

"Don't get smart with me Bo. This is pretty cool."

"Well, let's go through security where we get to stand in line for an hour and then take off our shoes."

"That doesn't sound fun. You think I will be scared of flying?"

"Doesn't sound like you were before. Don't imagine you will be now. But if you are I can think of some things to take your mind off of it."

He was probably expecting me to tell him no or laugh. Instead I thought it sounded like a brilliant idea.

"That's a great idea, Bo."

"What is?"

"We can make love on the plane. In the bathroom."

"Uh…I don't really want to drive back from Pennsylvania."

"We won't get caught. Please baby?" This would be so much fun. I was getting turned on just thinking about it.

"How about on the plane ride back? Then it will be too late to kick us off if we get caught."

"Okay. As long as you promise…"

"I promise Mary."

"Good boy."

Going through security was not fun. Sitting in the boarding area for an hour watching planes take off and land was fun. I felt like a kid again. I guess when it came to some stuff I was.

We finally boarded the plane. It was sort of weird. Listening to the engines starting up. Looking out the window as we took off. It was awesome. I was giggling like a little kid. Bo found this funny.

"How many times have you been on a plane, Mr. world traveler?"

"This is my second time. Mom and Dad took us to Disney Land in Florida when I was ten."

"That sounds fun. I wonder if I have ever been to Disney Land?" I guess I did need to know a lot more about my past. "Not that it matters I suppose. It's almost like I have lived two lives. Like I am two people. It's weird." I said more to myself.

"You'll get used to it. The more you learn about your past the gaps will fill in. You may never remember them but you will at least know what happened."

"True. If I can get anyone to tell me the truth." I mumbled.

"You didn't believe them?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because they were lying. At least they weren't telling the truth about everything. You know it. I know it."

"So what are we going to do about it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not much we can do about until…"

"Until what?"

"Until we go up there and look for ourselves. Unweave the mystery of who Bella Swan was….whooooo."

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he laughed.

"Yeah. But I'm not as much of an idiot as they think I am. He bit me while I held him off? What the hell? Who does that? Plus, the whole Jake being my best friend thing? He was looking at me like…"

"Like he was completely in love with you?"

"Yeah." I admitted. It was feeling kind of awkward for a moment.

"I know. The Paul guy was better at hiding it but I picked it up from him too." Bo said, surprising me.

"You did?"

"Yep."

"Huh. I didn't notice. I was busy trying to shovel through the bullshit they were sending my way. You know when Sam hugged me he felt like he was on fire? Like he had a major fever. Did he look sick to you?"

"No, he didn't." Bo agreed.

"Yeah. There is more to this story. When Edward admitted to Charlie that he threatened him and Renee, why didn't Charlie arrest him right then for making threats? That's against the law right?" I didn't want to talk about this but it wouldn't leave my head.

"I was kinda wonderin that myself. At least beat the hell out of the little shit."

"Yeah. This whole me being afraid of Edward. Edward dumping me and then coming back months later and wanting me? He comes from money and his parents never did anything to stop him coming back to a small town like Forks to try to win and then threaten a police chief's daughter."

"I thought you didn't want to talk about this?" Bo asked.

"I didn't, but since you won't make love to me in the bathroom, we have to pass the time somehow."

"I'm pretty certain that you can't make love in a bathroom the size of a small closet. If we did that it would be pretty much just fucking."

"Sometimes a girl needs both, you know?" I pointed out.

"You want to go fuck your husband in the bathroom, don't you?"

"The stewardess looks busy." I smiled.

"Okay."

Yesss!

We walked hand in hand to the bathroom. Two were occupied. Guess love was in the air. We both looked back and saw the stewardess was getting someone a drink. I opened the door…

"Oh my God, Mary close that door!"

"I guess someone wasn't feeling well." I whispered. God that was nasty.

I closed the door and heard another flush. One of the two occupied bathrooms was about to become unoccupied. I closed the door and looked. Stewardess getting peanuts. The door opened and a rather large man with a newspaper came out.

"Ma'am, you are going to want to wait a while before you go in there."

I looked at Bo. He was cringing.

"Guess the idea sounded better than reality huh?"

"Yeah. Let's go sit down. Read…or something. Anything to get away from this smell."

"Fine. We will give it another shot on the way back."

"Can't wait." He remarked. Hell no. I'm having an orgasm in an airplane. The idea is in my head now and that itch won't go away until I scratch it.

We spent the rest of the ride, just holding each other. He held me. I read a book. He wanted to read a magazine. I wouldn't let him because that meant he couldn't hold me. I was feeling particularly clingy. A lot of life changes had happened in the past 48 hours. Just like when I met him, when I get confused I cling to my rock. Besides. It's our honeymoon. I can cling all I want. He can read about new ways to lure deer to their deaths when we get home.

I expected us to rent a car when we got to the airport. Getting off the plane and waiting for our bags was not much fun. Instead of a rental car though I found that Bo had arranged for a limo to pick us up. I think I can get used to this. I'm going to have to get him to build more furniture so I can take more orders. Maybe I can buy a limo and get Chris to drive us around when he isn't working or passed out naked on my yard.

We arrived at the resort and it was breathtaking. The sun was going down behind the mountains. The resort was beautiful. We had a bell hop take our bags to the room and we went to the restaurant and ordered dinner. There was a band playing. It was…amazing. And we really hadn't even started yet.

Bo told me he had to go to the bathroom. I sat and enjoyed my drink and tried to digest the giant steak I had just inhaled. We missed lunch. I was hungry.

The band stopped playing behind me.

"This song is dedicated to my wife Mary. I love you babe."

That was Bo. Oh shit. Oh no.

I turned around ready to try to shoo him off the stage. These people weren't ready for…our musical abilities.

But something was wrong. He was playing the most beautiful…one of my favorite songs. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. Then he opened his mouth.

What the hell? He sounded…great. He…he…that fucker could actually sing and play!

I listened while he sang the song. He was looking directly at me the entire time. He finished and the crowd clapped. He thanked them with a wave and walked over to our table.

"That was beautiful. You have some explaining to do." I told him, wiping my eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I would have told you but I wanted to surprise you one day."

"I don't get it. If you can play and sing like that, why do you act like you can't?"

"If I played like that for our friends, they would all sit around and throw out requests and then listen to me."

"Yeah? So?"

"So it's more fun when we all get involved. I started practicing when Steph wasn't home. Only my Mom knew I could really play. When I started screwing around with the guitar everybody thought it was funny. So I went along with it. It became kind of a tradition and I didn't want to break that. It was too much fun."

"Well I thought it was the sweetest thing you ever did. So it better become a tradition that you play for me."

"Play for you? Hell, I'm going to teach you."

"You think I can?"

"You have a new life remember? You can do anything." He smiled. Yeah. I could, couldn't I?

Bo POV

The past few days have been crazy. Mary and I have rode bikes, gone hiking, let her take some wildlife photos. We have also made love. Everywhere. The Champaign glass hot tub in our suite. Outside against a tree, just off one of the hiking trails. At the top of a mountain we hiked up. In the hallway broom closet. We snuck into the day manager's office at night and made love on his desk. We made love in the heated swimming pool at the resort. The public one. At 2 AM after it was closed. Mary had apparently developed a fascination with having sex in places we could be caught. We tore up our bed of course. To tell the truth I was getting a little sore. She was insatiable. My little hell cat. Marriage suited her. I sure as hell wasn't complaining. She had always been a woman with strong…urges. They seemed to be stronger now. This was our last night and we were sitting in the heated pool. She was on my lap with her legs around me. Unfortunately there were other people around so I couldn't rip those bottoms off of her.

"Hello you two. You look so cute." I heard a guy's voice say from behind me. I sat down my beer bottle on the side of the pool and turned towards him. There was a dark haired guy, kinda skinny with styled hair that looked like it had way too much gel in it and a blonde girl whose bikini top was a bit too small for her. By like five sizes. He sounded European. She didn't speak.

"I am Derek and this is Bridgette. We are from Paris, France."

Oh, that explains the accent and the bikini.

"Well uh…welcome to America." I said. I looked at Mary and she shook her head. What else was I supposed to say?

"Thank you. May we join you?"

I looked at Mary and she didn't look very excited about the prospect.

"Uh, yeah I guess."

The dude sat right next to me. The girl sat next to me on the other side. She ran her hand from Mary's shoulder to her arm.

Mary looked a little surprised.

"You are such a pretty little thing. You are lucky man. What are your names?" the blonde asked.

"I'm Bo and this is my wife, Mary."

"We have watched you two this week. Honeymooners, no?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. Hey could you give me a little space?"

The blonde just touched Mary's cheek and she jerked back. What the hell?

"We were bored tonight and wondered if we could spend the night with you?" the blond, Bridgette asked.

"It's our last night of our honeymoon so we kind of need to spend it alone. Thanks for the offer though." Mary said, pressing her body closer to mine. She was practically like a second skin now.

"Oh, we completely understand. But the four of us could have fun." Derek said in his funny accent.

"Yeah…we are planning on having fun by ourselves tonight."

"Have you ever made love to a woman, Mary?" Bridgette asked.

"What?!" Mary practically screamed.

"Uh…"I didn't really know how to respond to that.

"No I haven't." Mary said, calming down somewhat.

"Would you like too? We could let the boys watch, or they could…play, if you want."

"Uh…no…I'm good. We are kind of…" Mary was stuttering.

"We only have sex with each other is what she is trying to spit out." I helped out.

"You have never traded partners when you were dating?" The male freak asked.

"No!" we both shouted at the same time.

"My apologies. You two looked very sensual. We thought perhaps…"

"You thought wrong Deerreek!" What the fuck?

"Bo, we need to get away." Mary whispered in my ear. The blonde tried to rub Mary's back and she whimpered and jerked away.

"Would you stop molesting my wife, Bridgette?"

I stood up and Mary was still wrapped around me, arms around my neck, legs around my waist. Something told me I wasn't peeling her off until I got her to our room.

"Such a shame. She has such a nice ass. You do as well. You sound like a cowboy? Are you a cowboy Bo?" Derek asked.

"Son, you best back off."

"Bo. Room. Now. Lock the door."

"Maybe you change your mind later. If you would like to see my Bridgette and your Mary together, maybe make love to Bridgette yourself, we are in suite 225."

"Mary, I need to put you down so I can kick this bastard's ass."

"No! Do not put me down. Take me to the room. Now. Put a towel on us. I feel dirty."

"You two have a nice night." Derek smiled. God I wanted to kick his teeth in. But if I tried with Mary wrapped around me I would fall back into the pool. That would be embarrassing. Mary was hiding behind her mane of brown hair.

"Bo. Now!"

I didn't say another word. I began carrying Mary to our room. Guess it was the hot tub tonight. If she wasn't traumatized.

"He has such a cute ass." I heard Bridgette say as we walked away. I ignored her.

"Yes he does." Not ignoring that. I turned around.

"Stop looking at my ass Dude!" Okay, that came out a little louder than I thought it would. I looked around and saw the others around the pool were staring.

"Bo! Now!" Mary hissed. I grabbed two towels off the rack and wrapped one around our hips and the other around our shoulders. True to form Mary stayed wrapped around my hips until we got to our room. She finally dropped down and looked at me.

"Did that just happen?" she asked.

"Did what? Did we just get propositioned by a couple of French swingers?"

"What the hell else would I be talking about?"

"Yes Mary. That just happened."

"The blonde kept…touching me. You didn't stop her!"

"Sorry. I was kind of caught off guard." I mean damn. It's not like that happens every day.

"It's okay. It's kind of funny. Deereek. Did you hear how he said his name? Like he was Zoolander or something." Now she was laughing now. From freaked out and violated one second to laughing the next. God, I love my wife.

"Did you see her bikini? What was up with that?" I said, getting in on the joke.

"No. I was too busy crawling into you to get away from her. Tell me about her bikini, Bo."

Oh shit. She wasn't laughing.

"I didn't see it. That's why I asked you. Did you see her bikini? Cause I ain't got a fucking clue what it looked like."

She smiled. Thank God.

"I'm in a bikini already, cowboy. What do you say you take me up to that hot tub and rip it off of me?"

That sounded like a helluva plan. As long as we weren't talking about other women's bikinis.

BPOV

Stupid Airport security.

"So could you go over one more time why the two of you were in the bathroom of the aircraft together?"

"I told you I really had to pee and my zipper was stuck. My husband helped me with it." Damn it! Bo was barely holding in a smile. This wasn't funny.

"The stewardess said there was quite a bit of banging and grunting."

"Yes, well those bathrooms aren't exactly spacious and the zipper was really hard to get unstuck. I really had to go!"

The fucker was smiling. Shit.

"So you two weren't having marital…relations? I understand you were coming back from your honeymoon."

"Sir, I am appalled that you would even suggest that! You think I am the type of girl who would do…that in a tiny box that really needs to have more leg room and air freshener? I'm feeling a little harassed. Aren't you Bo?"

"I was just helping her with a zipper." Bo said raising his hands and now definitely smirking.

"I see. Well I apologize for any confusion. Perhaps next time you fly with us, you can get your husband to help you with your zipper outside the bathroom or perhaps get a stewardess to help you out? I'm sure you can understand the security concerns in this day and age of two people being in an airplane bathroom together."

"Of course. I will be glad to get a stewardess next time and I accept your apology. Now can we leave? We really need to get home."

"Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Walker, I hope you two enjoyed your time with us and let me congratulate you on your marriage."

"Thank you sir." I stuck my hand out to shake his and he backed up smiling. He gave a little half bow and I huffed. I grabbed Bo's hand and pulled him out of the office. He broke down in laughter as soon as the door was closed behind us.

"It's not funny Bo. I didn't even get to get off before that bitch was banging on the door."

"He wouldn't shake your hand…" he continued laughing.

"I don't know what his problem was. I washed my hands…didn't I? It was rude anyway. Bowing like he is a fucking butler…"

We saw our Limo and Bo loaded our bags. Before getting in I looked looked back inside the airport to make sure no security was coming to get us. A really beautiful blonde girl was standing by the door, staring at me. I looked at her. She seemed surprised about something. She was very, very pale. She made me look like a tanning salon model. Even from this far away I could tell she had the prettiest gold eyes. She kept staring. It was making me uncomfortable. Maybe…no. She couldn't know me from my old life. I doubt many women who looked like her, hung around Forks. Of course Sue's daughter was a knockout. I guess to be safe I smiled and waved. Bo opened the door for me and I got in.

"Who were you waving at darlin?"

"Hell if I know. She was staring. I thought I would be nice. She was probably another French Swinger."

"Well, it's an hour home. You want to finish what we started on the plane?"

I didn't get a chance to answer before I felt his lips on mine. Damn straight I'm getting me some.

Rosalie POV

That didn't just happen. Bella Swan did not just wave at me and then get into a limo. Dead Bella Swan. Bella Swan buried in a shallow grave on the side of the road at an unknown location just jumped into a limo with a hot guy.

She had a ring on her finger. He did too. They were married. Dead Bella Swan was married. She waved at me. But her face…

She waved because I was staring. She didn't recognize me. She had no idea who I was. Not an ounce of recognition or surprise or fear.

Okay.

But…

"Rose, I got our bag. We need to get on our connecting flight in ten minutes."

We had just flown in from Oregon and planned to catch a flight to Brazil. We had ten minutes.

"No Emmett. We aren't going."

"Uh…what do you mean we aren't going?"

"XT6-DW2." I whispered to him.

"Okay…."

"That's the license plate of a limo. Looked like one of those limo companies. We need to find out where that limo is going."

"Why Rose?"

I turned and looked at my husband. He had been so sad since Bella disappeared. First when we left her and he has been devastated since she went missing. I wonder how he would take this?

"Emmett, as crazy as this sounds I just saw Bella Swan get into that limo with a guy I think is her husband."

"That isn't funny Rose."

"Do I look like I am fucking joking Emmett!?"

"No. But Bella? Even if she were alive, here? Married? In a limo?"

"Emmett I know how it sounds but it was her. She saw me staring and waved. She looked right at me Emmett."

"Why wouldn't she say anything to us?' Emmett asked.

"Emmett she waved because I was staring. But that was it. I saw her eyes. Her facial expression. She didn't know who I was. She didn't have a clue."

"Let's get a cab. I need a hotel with wireless if I am going to hack into the DMV and then the limo company to see where that limo went."

Emmett walked to the curb to hail a taxi.

"Emmett?"

"Yeah Rose?"

"Not a word about this to anyone."

"You think I would tell them. If you are right."

"I'm right Emmett. I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. That was Bella Swan."


	13. Chapter 13

Don't own it

Chapter 13

BPOV

What a week. I got married, met my father, went on a crazy honeymoon that still has me walking a little shaky, got propositioned by French swingers, almost got arrested by Homeland Security for trying to get my groove on in an airplane bathroom and just had mind blowing sex in the back of a limo while heading home. I was ready to take a long bath, get back in my bed and relax. Wake up in the morning and make breakfast, catch up on the orders that have come in over the past week and ogle my husband while he hammers and saws and does all the other technical things he looks so hot doing.

The limo pulled in front of our house and Hunter ran out to greet us. Steph was on the front porch with a woman I didn't recognize. She was pretty. Blonde hair, blue eyes, looked to be late thirties, early forties but obviously kept herself in…oh shit. She was running towards me.

I damn near got tackled by the now hysterically crying blond woman who must be…

"Bella!"

"I'm guessing you are Renee huh? Mom?"

"Oh my God baby! I thought you were dead." She wouldn't let me go. I suppose if I thought my kid had been dead for the past year I wouldn't either, so I let her squeeze me. I even squeezed her back a little. But it was weird.

She finally pulled back but wouldn't let me go.

"Bella you remember me right? I know seeing me, must bring back something!"

Okay. She wasn't going to take this well. Charlie told me she was emotional.

"I'm sorry…"

Damn it. Now she was crying louder.

She finally calmed down.

"It's okay baby. Charlie explained everything. I'm so glad you are alive. I have been dead inside this past year, thinking you were gone."

I looked at Bo who had stepped back and was watching us.

"Uhm…Mom? It's okay. You can calm down now. Why don't we come inside? We just got back from our…"

"I know! Your honeymoon! After thinking you were dead for a year Charlie fucking Swan refused to tell me where you went. I have been her the past few days waiting for you. Your sister in law was kind enough to put up with me."

Renee looked at Bo.

"You must be my new son in law."

"Yes ma'am. Bo Walker." Bo stuck out his hand and Renee took it and then wrapped him in a hug. I think he was a little surprised.

"You saved my daughter's life. Of course you then promptly married my 18 year old daughter but that isn't what's important. You saved her life."

Guess Renee isn't a big fan of marriage.

"Come inside Ren…Mom."

I grabbed her hand and brought her inside. The house was…a mess. Guess she isn't any better at being tidy than Stephanie is.

"Why don't you have a seat?"

"Okay Bella. Just…stay where I can see you."

"Uh, Mom? I don't really go by that name. It's kinda confusing. I go by Mary."

"Your name is Bella. I gave you that name and that's what I am going to call you!" She was close to freaking out. I needed to handle this carefully.

"This is my damn house and you will call me Mary!"

Oops. That wasn't careful. It's been a long week.

"Of course…Mary. I'm sorry."

"No I am. I have had a long week and this is all so strange and I shouldn't have snapped like that. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry."

"No. It's okay. I know it isn't your fault. It's that damn ex husband of mine's fault."

"It isn't Charlie's fault. I'm the one who ran off."

"To get away from Edward Cullen. I knew in Phoenix when you were so badly hurt that he was bad news. He wouldn't let us alone with you. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't the one who threw you down those stairs. Him and his father just happened to go looking for you and then find you after you fell down stairs. What a load of bullshit. I told Charlie and all he would say was Dr. Cullen is a good man, Dr. Cullen wouldn't let that happen, blah, blah blah, Dr. Fucking Cullen. Charlie should have protected you from that boy."

"Wait. Hold up. What happened in Phoenix?" I looked at Bo. He caught that too. Charlie never mentioned Phoenix.

"Charlie didn't tell you?"

"No. We really didn't have much of a chance to talk. I was about to get married when he found me and then we left the next day."

"Oh. Well, what do you know about why you ran off?" She asked, looking confused.

"Just that Edward left me and then came back wanting me to run off with him. When I refused he threatened you and Charlie and I left to protect you."

"Who the hell told you that?" Renee looked upset again.

"Uh, Charlie?"

"Your relationship with Edward Cullen was obsessive and unnatural. I knew it when I saw how affected you were by him. This is his fault too."

"Tell me about it." I encouraged her. I don't know why but I had a feeling she wouldn't lie to me. I needed to know what happened. What really happened? It was important.

"What would you like to hear?" she asked.

"Everything from the moment I left you to come to Forks."

She sat back and wiped her eyes again.

"I never should have let you go to him." She whispered.

"You called me a few weeks after you first arrived at Forks. You told me you had met a boy named Edward. I was excited for you because you had never had a boyfriend before."

Renee went on to tell me the history of my time in Forks as she knew it. But she wasn't there. She was telling me the truth. But she didn't know the whole story. What Charlie told me had many holes. Her story had many gaps. I think I lied to her then. Or kept things hidden at least.

"So she went to Phoenix, fell through a window, broke her leg, broke ribs, had glass cut an artery in her leg and got a strange bite on her wrist?" Bo asked. I was having a hard time believing it myself.

"Yes." Renee answered.

"And instead of calling an ambulance, Dr. Cullen took her to the hospital himself?"

"Yes."

"So she had that scar before Edward Cullen left her?" Bo asked for clarification. I caught Charlie's lie as well. I suppose it was Jacob's lie but they were all in on it. Hell even that quiet kid asked me if I would believe an animal bite. Like they were trying out lies.

"So he left. Then he came back?" I asked.

"I didn't know he came back. Charlie never told me. But I saw you after he left. You were damn near catatonic. I came down to get you to come home with me and you went crazy. You refused to leave. I left you there and Charlie said you got better. Then Alice Cullen supposedly arrived and you disappeared for three days and then Charlie said you were back. Then the next morning you were gone again. I thought you were dead."

Shit. She started crying again. I felt so bad for her. I just couldn't reconcile the way I am with who I used to be. Had I changed that much? I would go catatonic over a boy? If this bite mark happened when I fell out of a window, why did they lie? Did Edward bite me and then push me out a window? Wouldn't Charlie have suspected that? This made no sense. I looked at Bo and could tell he thought the same thing.

"Look. Let's quit talking about Edward Cullen. I'm sure Steph and Hunter have been eating take out all week. Let me get some dinner ready and I…"

"No! You come and sit in the kitchen with me and I will cook. Please baby?"

"Oookay…" I guess she could cook. Maybe I learned from her.

Bo POV

"Bo, get the fire extinguisher from the shed! Now!"

I ran to the kitchen, doubting there was time for that. Yep. Stove top was flaming to high Heaven. Smoke detectors going off like crazy. I grabbed a big bag of flour and dumped it over the stove. It kind of got everywhere. Me, Mary, her Mom, Hunter. Course Steph stayed the hell away from the kitchen.

"I probably should have told you I'm not that good of a cook baby. I just wanted to do something…"

Mary hugged her. It was cute since they were both covered in flour.

"It's okay Mom. We can order pizza." Renee was crying again. At least this time she was laughing as well.

"You have cooked for us since you were 8 years old. I just wanted to try and cook for you for once."

"8?" Mary asked. I knew Charlie said she took care of her mother but damn.

"Yes. You taught yourself because you got tired of helping me put out fires and eating burnt or undercooked food. We both got sick one time from my cooking. After we recovered you started reading a cookbook and that was it. You cooked from that point on.

"I taught myself?"

"Yes."

She taught herself how to cook at eight. She took care of her mother and was the responsible one in the house, according to Charlie. She left to go live in a place she hated so her mother could be happy. Then she damn near lost her mind over her first boyfriend? A guy she obviously hadn't even had sex with?

Something was wrong here. There was more to this story. I think I had best work hard this week to get my orders built and delivered. Then we were taking another plane trip to Forks, Washington. If someone told me Edward Cullen was dead, I would say let the past stay buried. But this fucker was alive somewhere. He may not know where Mary is, but Charlie Swan found her. If he did, it was possible she wasn't as hidden as we thought.

I needed to know what happened, who it happened to and why it happened. I had a wife to protect. She may have moved on with her life but that didn't mean her old life wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass. Or the wrist.

We sat around the rest of the night eating pizza while Renee told Mary stories about her childhood. The more I heard the more confused I became. No way Mary acted like that without there being more to the story. She may have lost her memories but who she was sounded the same. Right up until she went to Forks.

I wanted to go to bed but Renee followed Mary to our bedroom and laid down with her. She wrapped her in her arms and fell asleep. Mary looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders. She lost her daughter and found her again. I probably wouldn't have let her go either. I lay on the edge of the bed and drifted off to sleep, trying to not think about what I had learned. Work this week. Answers next week.

The honeymoon was over. My eyes popped open at 5 AM like they do every morning, no alarm needed.

I was still dressed in what I had on yesterday so I took a shower and got some clean jeans on. By the time I was at the shed, Mary was already there, with a cup of coffee in her hand. She gave me the cup, kissed me and sat at her desk, firing up her laptop. It was a little chilly out. She looked so cute in her mussed up hair and robe.

It was perfect. No mountain scenery needed.

I had gotten a lot of work done by noon. Mary had found we had 7 orders waiting for us. Luckily I had finished all the orders before. I had gotten the build done on 4 of them. The other three would come tomorrow.

"Bo?"

"Yeah babe?"

"We just had an order come in for a custom bed. This looks…complicated."

I checked it out. It was definitely a complex piece. Almost as complex as our bed.

"Give a quote of $8000 and tell them it will be ready for pick up in 5 weeks." If I did this it could be a profit of $6000. The wood and labor were not the expense. The customer was paying for what I could do with that wood.

"Okay. Let's see if they bite."

A few minutes later I heard Mary again.

"Holy shit."

"What?"

"She emailed back and said she would pay $12,000 if we could have it done in four weeks."

"Write her back and tell her it's a deal."

So that was some good news. I usually made a profit of anywhere from $500 to $1000 for a piece, depending on the type of furniture. This was over the top.

"Bo. We are going to need a bigger shed soon, and you are going to need someone to sand the finished product."

"Yeah I know. But I can knock out these 7 this week and get the bed done in a week and a half when we come back."

"Where are we going?" she asked. I think she half wanted to and half didn't want to go. But we needed to. We needed to find out what happened. I don't know why but something told me it would be important. Sometimes I just know things. Just like I knew I couldn't leave her when I met her. Call it instinct. My instinct was telling we needed answers.

"Forks, Washington, Darlin."

She didn't say anything. She nodded though. She knew it as well. She may be afraid of what she found but we would face it together. Whatever the truth was.

"You want to go dancing tonight? Get the gang together. Go out to Roadies on the interstate?" I asked.

"Yeah. That would be fun. I haven't worn my boots in a while." She smiled. I loved her in those boots.

Rose POV

This is so strange. We tracked Bella to outside of Tyler, Texas. We had been watching from the trees for two days. We had been watching her and her mother reminiscing. We had watched her inside a barn with a man who was her husband. We had heard her be called Mary. She kept asking her mother questions about her childhood. From what we had gathered, Charlie Swan had found her a little over a week ago here. I also suspected Bella had no idea who she was. Who she had been. But she seemed really…happy.

"We can't let anyone find out about this Emmett."

"I want to talk to her."

"She won't remember you. Haven't you figured that out yet? Her own mother didn't bring back her memories. She asked her if they had ever gone to Disney Land for God's sakes. Who forgets whether they had been to Disney Land?"

"So we could get to know her. She may not know us. It would be perfect. We could be friends and she wouldn't have a clue that we were vampires."

"Right, because she didn't figure it out once before, already."

"You just don't like her, Rose."

"It's not that Emmett. I just like her better the way she is now. Happy. Clueless about the supernatural. You have seen her and that man. She is in love. She is happy. Do you honestly think she would be happier with us in her lives? I know you love her. But if you really love her we need to let her go."

"Look they are leaving. Let's see where they go." He responded, completely ignoring what I just said.

"Fine. But we do not approach her."

"No problem. Course if I accidentally bump into her…"

"Emmett."

I said nothing else. We got into our rental and followed the two. They went to a place called Roadies. The type of place I would imagine you have to use toilet seat covers in the bathroom. If you were brave enough to go in there. We walked in behind them and sat at a table. Bella and her husband sat at a table on the other end of the dance hall. The music was loud. A live band was playing. Bella's husband was playing pool with a few other males. Bella was sitting with a group of girls who were laughing. Over the music and across the hall it was difficult for even me to hear. I heard the words French Swingers and airplane bathroom. Strange.

"I want to go play pool."

"No."

"Yes."

"I said no." I said sharply. He is like a puppy sometimes I swear.

"We will look weird if we just sit here. We need to interact."

"You want to go near Bella. Leave it alone. We agreed we wouldn't approach her."

"You said nothing about her husband. Plus you agreed. I didn't. You don't get to make my decisions for me."

Damn it.

"Emmett is there anything I can say to stop you?"

"Nope."

"I bet there is something I could say that would stop you."

Oh shit.

Peter fucking Whitlock.

"Hello Peter. Jasper and Alice around?" I smiled. Please let Jasper and Alice be around.

"Nope."

Peter and Charlotte took a seat across from us. Peter had a cowboy hat pulled low on his head.

"So, how's it going Petey?" Emmett asked. I shook my head. Emmett is a very strong man. But there are certain vampires you do not fuck with. The Volturi guard, Jasper and the one sitting across from us. The guard were controlled and only took orders from the brothers. Jasper was tamed somewhat by his love for Alice. Peter…

Peter would kill you as soon as look at you. His crazy wife would light the bonfire.

"Emmett, normally I would find humor in your pathetic attempts at levity. But right now I am not fucking amused. As a matter of fact I have spent the last thirty minutes on the roof debating on whether I should kill you two or not."

"What seems to be the problem Peter?"

"The problem is I have worked hard to make sure that no Cullens fuck with that little girl or her husband and yet here you two come stumbling in. Did you tell anyone else you found her?"

"No." I answered quickly.

"Does anyone else know you are here?"

Oh fuck.

"No. We left the Cullens." Emmett answered, grinning. Damn it Emmett. Your big fucking mouth is going to get us killed.

"That may be boy, but how can I be sure little Alice isn't seeing you staring at my girl right now?"

"Alice hasn't had any visions of Bella in a long time. We thought it was because she was dead." Now please back off.

"Maybe but who is to say she ain't havin visions of you right now, looking at her?"

"What do you care Peter?" Emmett asked. Always looking for a fight. Normally I thought it was hot. But this is a fight we didn't need. Charlotte was staring at me. I had to stare back or it would show weakness. But I really didn't want to. Unlike my husband, my reason wasn't ruled by my ego.

"It is very important to me Emmett that the little lady be kept out of the know about the supernatural world. It also important to me that the Volturi never find her."

"We know Peter. The Volturi will kill her." I told him hoping he understood that we understood.

"No, they wouldn't. They would turn her. She would be to powerful not to. They can never find out she is alive. That means Aro can never come in contact with the two of you. So now I have a dilemma. How do I guarantee that Aro never comes in contact with the two of you?"

Emmett growled and went to stand up. I grabbed his arm. Peter laughed.

"You and I both know that you can't take me Emmett so sit your ass down."

"You think I won't fight you Whitlock?" Emmett whispered.

"Of course you will. I just said you couldn't take me. You don't want to leave your beautiful woman here a widow, do you? Now sit down fucker, before you piss me off." Peter wasn't smiling anymore.

Emmett thankfully sat back down.

"Peter, I am not challenging you here. But why do you care? You never knew her when we did. What difference does it make?" I asked. This was strange.

Peter took a breath and then lit a cigarette.

He looked at me and offered one.

"Go ahead. It certainly won't kill you. It helps you remember to breath and you fit in around this crowd."

Not wanting to piss him off I took one. It tasted like shit and he hadn't even lit it yet.

"Fine. If I decided to kill you tonight, you should at least know why you are dying. You see her husband over there on the dance floor holding her tight? I never met that kid before he came to my house wanting an ID for a girl who had amnesia and had no idea who she was. He found her on the side of the road with no idea where she was or who she was. He took her in, took care of her, loved her. That man would do anything in the world for her and she would do anything for him.

Now I said I had never met him and that was true. But I knew who he was. His name is Bo Walker. His given name is Robert Benjamin Walker."

"Okay." I said, not sure where this was going.

"I have kept up with his family for years. Many, many years. When his parents died two years ago, he received a one million dollar life insurance settlement. His parents didn't have a one million dollar life insurance policy. I set it up. I had a man posing as an agent call him and tell him about it. Him. Not his older sister who was a wreck and still is. It was set up for him to take care of it. I knew who he was. I never saw him until he walked into my house. When I saw him I knew. And I knew she was the one. That makes her very important to me. Her human life is of the upmost importance to me. When she knew your family she nearly died multiple times, including having the Volturi after her. Just because of her knowledge of vampires and your idiot brother.

The Volturi cannot find her. That means if I let you walk out of here I am taking a chance that Aro won't decide to round up the whole Cullen clan and see if any of you are hiding something. Now you two got something to hide, don't you?"

"We will stay away from them Peter. I will force them to kill us before he ever touches us. I don't want her to know about vampires either. I don't want her found. I promise." Please believe me Peter. I would fight if it came down to it but I really didn't want it to come down to that.

"Okay Rose. But you and your big teddy bear are not to contact her. Not to have any contact with her."

"Why Peter? Why did you give that kid a million dollars?" Emmett asked. I cringed but I was kind of curious too.

"I told you his name is Robert Benjamin Walker. Before I was changed against my will by Jasper fucking Whitlock, my name was Peter Walker. I had a brother Benjamin. I never had any kids thanks to Jasper. My brother did. Benjamin has been a family name passed down through the generations. Bo's older sister's kid is Hunter Benjamin. Bo is Robert Benjamin. You gettin the idea?"

"You're protecting your brother's blood line. From a distance."

"Yep. Bo is to carry on the Walker name. Hunter is a good kid, despite having a train wreck of a mother and violent no good dad who I arranged to be very dead so Bo wouldn't have to do it when the guy got released from Prison. But that little lady? Your Bella Swan? She was meant to carry on my brother's blood line. She is meant to have my great, great, great grandnephew's children. It is fate. I knew it when I saw them. She is a warrior. She is a survivor. She walked into the Volturi to save your worthless brother. She hung out with big fucking werewolves. A girl like that you have to respect. Most importantly she makes him happy, so I keep her safe."

Oh my God.

Peter has a family? Bella is going to have children? Of course she is. Any idiot can look at those two dancing and see they are completely in love. I am so happy for her. I meant it. I would die before I let her be found. I hated this life. She could have a real life though.

"I swear to you Peter. I will do everything I can to keep her hidden."

"I believe you Rose. It's the only reason you and teddy bear here are still standing. Plus I may need you one day."

"Need us for what?" Emmett asked.

"In the event the Volturi ever discover she is alive and find her."

"You want us to hide her?" I asked.

"No. Hiding would do no good against Demetri. No, if the Volturi ever find her they will try to take her and if that happens…"

"What?" I already knew the answer.

"If that happens I am going to gather my friends, maybe turn some new ones and we are going to have a reenactment of the Southern wars. Unlike some vampires I ain't afraid of those Italian fucks and I will kill them if I have too. Now I will need fighters so…"

"We're in." Emmett said immediately.

Peter nodded his head and snuffed out his cigarette.

"Glad to hear it. Now ya'll need to get out of town and disappear from the Cullens and the Volturi for a hundred years or so. Understand?"

I was about to agree when we all heard it. From the dance floor.

"Bo, that looks like Peter Whitlock's wife. And I swear the blonde next to him is the one who was staring at me in the airport. I bet that's Peter in that hat."

We all looked and saw Bella and her husband staring right at us.

"Well darlin. Maybe we should go say hi."


	14. Chapter 14

Don't own it

Okay so after I post my chapter last night, I sit down to watch TV. My wife loves this show called Blue Bloods with Magnum PI and the guy from New Kids on the Block. The bad guy on last night's episode was named Benjamin Walker. Weird huh? Almost like the governments watching me.

Chapter 14

Bella POV

It was him. I would never forget his face. Peter Whitlock. The guy who gave me a new identity. For free.

"Peter? Charlotte?" I asked.

"Hello Mary, Bo." They were both smiling. The big guy across from them was smiling. The blonde who stared at me in the airport looked very nervous and wouldn't make eye contact with us.

I looked back at Peter. His pupils were still red. I looked at Charlotte, expecting to see the murky brown eyes she had last time.

Her eyes were red.

The couple across from them had golden eyes.

Bo put has hand around my waist. I could feel the tension in his arm.

"Wasn't expectin to see ya'll here of all places. You still live near the Gulf, Peter?" Bo asked.

"Yeah, we was doing some traveling here to see our friends. They live in Tyler. We came up the interstate and saw this place. It looked fun so we pulled in. I forgot that you two lived so close."

"How did you know where we lived?" I asked. This was too weird.

"I put the address on your driver's license, Mary." He winked at me.

"And you remembered that?" I asked doubtfully.

"I got a good memory." He shrugged his shoulders.

"So who are your friends?" Bo asked pulling up a chair. I was about to do the same but he pulled me onto his lap. He was feeling extra protective. He angled the chair so he could put me behind him in a second. He usually does this when there are some rough people around the bars or dance halls we go to.

"This is Emmett and Rosalie McCarty. They…"

"Have just moved here. Damn nice to meet you Bo. Mary." The big guy, Emmett answered.

Bo took his hand and jerked back at his touch. He offered his hand to me and I took it. He was so cold.

Peter looked angry.

"So congratulations on the marriage. I told you I believed in fate." Peter said when he was done glaring at Emmett.

"How did you know we were married?" I asked quickly. I didn't like that. I appreciated what he did but the guy still kind of creeped me out.

"Well he is wearing a pretty gold band and you got a giant hunk of diamond on your hand."

Oh yeah.

"Well thank you, Peter." Bo nodded.

"Hey, I told you. I'm a sucker for a good romance." He smiled.

Teddy walked up and leaned his hands on the table.

"Hey Bo, your game. Who are these folks?"

"Hey Teddy. This is Peter and Charlotte and Rosalie? Yeah Rosalie and Emmett. Rosalie and Emmett are new to the area."

"Uh huh."

Chris walked up behind him holding a pool cue.

"Well, welcome." Chris said, smiling. "Where you guys from?"

Emmett said New York the same time Rosalie said LA.

"We travel a lot." Rose explained finally looking me in the eyes.

Todd came walking very quickly to the table.

"Hey, we got a new deputy Sheriff in the county, guys." Todd was smiling. What was the big deal? New cop.

"That right?" Bo asked, eyes never leaving the group in front of us.

"Yep. Him and his partner are walking through the bar right now, checkin IDs on kids who are drinkin."

Glad I hadn't drank yet tonight.

"And Mary, you will never guess who he is."

"Why would I Todd? I don't know any cops." I told him. Bo and I were kind of dealing with something right now.

"Oh but you know one…" I could hear the smile in his voice. Almost gleeful. I finally turned around and saw him.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me."

Charlie POV

"So this place looks like a slaughter house." I commented to Dave, my new partner. It was weird having a partner. I hadn't had one in a long time.

"Don't let it fool you. The place is actually pretty tame. Just local kids who get into fights occasionally. We might break up a few. Hand out the occasional MIP citation to some teenager who ain't old enough to be drinking. That sort of thing. Nothing major ever happens here. I can show you some real dumps out in the pines that you will want to keep your hand on your weapon the entire time we are there. Probably the same from where you come from. Just a lot more crazy people. You also got to remember that a large majority of them have weapons somewhere and have them legally. They aren't supposed to carry them in bars, but you never want to be too careful.

"Wonderful. Take a ten hour course and you are ready to hide a gun on you legally. Interesting State you got here Dave."

"Yeah, we like it. Trust me, it ain't the ones carrying legally that you have to worry about. Hell most of them will help you if you ever find yourself in a bind."

Good to know. Still. I'm a cop. The idea of a citizen pulling a handgun and firing at the bad guy shooting at me, makes me a little uneasy. Guess I better get used to it.

We walked in and the place was full of smoke and the smell of beer. It was crowded. The music was extremely loud. A band was playing country music. Quite a few people were dancing.

"How the hell do you even see if any kids are drinking?" I yelled.

"Don't worry. Once they see you are a cop most will move aside and let you through and some will get the hell away from you. The ones getting the hell away from you are the ones who are underage. Don't mess with them unless they look really drunk."

"Why not? They are breaking the law." That made no sense. Underage drinking is a problem. It wasn't something to be ignored.

"Knock yourself out but you will be here till 7 AM writing citations they will pay with a bit of their beer money. Concentrate on the ones who look toasted. We will take outside in and call their mommas and daddies."

"I just don't think I can ignore it."

"Look most of these kids grew up in small communities around here. There ain't much for these kids to do except drink, fight or fuck. Sometimes all three at once. You ain't in Forks anymore, Charlie. You got to pay attention to the ones who look like they are going to hurt themselves. Don't wasn't your time on an 18 year old drinking one beer. It's not worth the trouble and trust me. You ain't gonna change their lives except to make them more careful not to get caught next time."

Great.

We strolled through the hall and sure enough most moved aside to let us pass. Quite a few greeted Dave by name and offered him a beer.

Weird.

I looked to the right corner and saw a table that caught my eye. Four pale people sitting at a table with a man who had a girl on his lap. Two cowboys were standing by the table. One was staring at me and smiling. I recognized him from the wedding. Todd. Chris was next to him. The naked guy on Bella's lawn. Then the girl on the guy's lap turned around and it was her. She looked surprised. I suppose maybe I should have mentioned this to her but she had been gone on her honeymoon.

I was so caught up in her stare it took me a moment to concentrate on the pale people. Two weren't looking at me. Two were with wide eyes.

Holy shit. Rose and Emmett Cullen. Hell no!

I left Dave calling my name and stormed over to the table. Bella stood up and stepped in front of me.

"Char…Dad?"

"Hey Be…Mary. Bo." I couldn't look at her now. My eyes were caught on two of 7 people I hated more than anyone else, with the exception of the man who took my baby. I still need to arrange that son of a bitch's death.

"What are you doing here? In that uniform?" Bella asked.

"Uh, Bo, would you take Bella outside and I can explain everything where I can hear the two of you better? I need to talk to your new friends."

"Sure Charlie. Good to see you again Pet…where the hell did Peter go?"

"He slipped out the back smooth like a second ago. Sumbitch moves pretty fast" Todd replied.

"We will be out front Charlie."

Bo sat Mary on the ground and they both walked out. I kept my eyes on the Cullens, making sure they didn't slip out.

I sat across from them.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" I growled. I wasn't in the mood for niceties.

"Just visiting an old friend Charlie." Emmett smiled.

"Just cause I can't kill you doesn't mean I don't know people who can, Emmett. People who are a lot closer than you think."

That caught Rose's attention. She always did strike me as the smart one.

"We saw Bella in the airport when she came back from her honeymoon. We didn't know you had found her until a few days ago. We have been keeping an eye on her." She said.

"She has a husband to keep an eye on her. A husband who has done a damn better job than any of us have done. You weren't keeping an eye on her. You were stalking her. Do all of you know now? Where are the rest?"

"The family broke up Charlie. We don't see them anymore." She responded.

"You need to leave. Leave now and forget what you saw. If you have been watching her you know. You know she has no memory of what happened. It needs to stay that way."

"We know, Charlie. We plan for it to."

"Then why the fuck did I just find you talking to her?"

"They came over to see Peter…"

"That was Peter Whitlock?"

"You know him?!" She seemed surprised. I guess I did know a little more than she thought.

"He told you to stay away too, didn't he?"

"How the hell…what do you know about Peter Whitlock?" She asked.

"I know that he is a human eating vampire who I like a hell of a lot more than you two." At least he wants my daughter safe form knowledge of vampires. More than I can say for these two bastards. Okay a bastard and a bitch.

"We just came to watch her. I swear Charlie. Bella and Bo recognized Peter's wife and came over to say hi."

"You shouldn't be here."

"We know." She agreed.

"Then fucking leave." I stood up. This conversation was over. Except…

"If I see you around my daughter again you will die. I wasn't kidding. I know people who can make you truly dead. Dead and burned to ashes. Do not fuck with me."

I walked out to see the parking lot empty and my heart stopped a little. Then I heard Bo's voice.

"Hey Charlie! We are over here."

I followed the sound of his voice to their truck. Bo was standing in front and Bella was seated on the hood.

"What was that all about Dad? How did you know them?"

"I didn't. I just didn't like the look of them."

"You are fucking lying to me." Oh shit. She was angry. She just dropped an F bomb. Still can't get used to that word coming out of her pretty mouth.

"I'm not…"

"Don't deny it. I would rather you just say you don't want to tell me and I will figure it out for myself. You are my father and you aren't telling me the truth about my past. Phoenix ring any bells?"

Damn it. Renee. Should have known.

"Your Mom showed up huh?"

"Yeah. Now are you going to tell me the truth about what happened in Forks? What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Bo said nothing. He just held Mary's hand and looked at me. I couldn't exactly look to him for support. He supported her. If she wanted to know, he wanted to know.

"I moved here. I mean I'm moving here. Sue and her kids are coming with me. They are in Forks putting my house up for sell. I found a place a couple miles from you house. We are moving in next week. I got a job working patrol for Smith County. That's what I am here for. As far as your past, you want honesty? There are some things in your past, things involving Edward Cullen that you don't want to know. It's better that you don't know. You may not think so because you don't remember but I promise you, if I asked you a little over a year ago before you took off, if you would like to just forget it forever, then you would have jumped at the chance. Now you have the chance. Whether you remember me or not, I am your father. I haven't been the greatest Dad but I love you and I want to protect you. Why the hell can't you just trust me?"

Neither Bella or Bo said anything. Finally Bo spoke up.

"Any chance of her past coming back to bite her?"

"There is always a chance. You don't want lies? Fine. You know there is always a chance of the unknown. But I want to protect you. I never have before and I want the chance to now. Will you let me? Will you stop asking so many damn questions about things that are better left forgotten?

Bella was staring at the ground and playing with her wedding ring, turning it back and forth.

"If something from my past shows up, I want to know about it." She finally said.

"Okay. If something comes up that you have to know about, I will tell you and Bo. But for now, can't you just enjoy your new life and maybe let me enjoy it with you?" Please say yes. I was coming regardless but it would be nice if she was okay with it. I wasn't letting her far from me again.

"Okay Dad." She said, nodding her head.

I felt relief. I wonder if I should push my luck.

"Can I have a hug?"

"Of course you can, Charlie." Bo responded and wrapped me up, lifting me off the ground slightly. Strong boy, that Bo.

That seemed to break the tension and we all started laughing. Bella walked up and hugged me. I will never take holding her for granted again.

"Charlie, you and Sue weren't living together before were you?" Bo asked.

"No."

"So you got two households to move, right?"

"Yes. I plan to fly down there this weekend and we are driving two moving trucks back."

"Mary and I were planning on going down to see you next week. See the place she lived, went to school. How about we fly with you and help you move your things?"

Damn it.

She really did not need to go back there. But Emily would want to see her. They all would. I suppose it couldn't hurt. There weren't any traces of Edward Cullen in our house. The Cullens wouldn't go back there. If they were looking for her they would never suspect Forks.

"Fine. That sounds good. I know Emily is missing you Be…Mary. She would like to see you again. Would that be okay?"

"Sure. I would love to meet her." Bella replied, smiling.

"Well I don't want to intrude on your night any longer." I should probably find my partner.

"No, it's okay. We need to get back home to Renee. Hope she hasn't burned the kitchen down." Bella said, surprising the hell out of me.

"Renee is still here?"

"Yep. She is an…interesting woman." Bo replied. I had to chuckle.

"Yes, that's one way to put it."

I hugged my daughter once more and watched the two of them drive off. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe she would leave it alone.

Bo POV

"You're not going to leave it alone are you?"

"After what he just told me? I want to know more than ever now." Mary replied. Why was I not surprised?

"We have to get all the orders done this week." She said.

"We are working as fast as I can." I told her smiling.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I know you are the business manager. It's your job to worry about things like that."

"Business manager?"

"Yes. Business Manager." It was a good title. Plus I never had to worry about the books or orders. She took care of everything. It allowed me to focus on what I do best.

"Your business manager thinks we need a bigger shed. And we might want to think about a business name. Something that would look flashy on a website."

"Bo Walker's furniture doesn't sound flashy?"

"It doesn't come close to describing the beautiful work you do."

"What would you suggest?" I asked.

"I don't know. At least add the word custom in the title. I will come up with a few ideas. Internet orders are picking up. But the orders are mostly from the Tyler area. People know you around here. You should be known other places too. You are too good not to be."

"Thanks for the confidence, baby."

"Baby, what you do is amazing. You have the most beautiful hands."

Yeah and those hands wanted to trace every inch of skin on her beautiful body.

"So, your dad is moving here. Think that will be weird?"

"I don't think so. Maybe at first. But I am kind of looking forward to it. To getting to know him again. It will be nice."

"Yeah. I think it will be good for you." I agreed.

"Now if my Mom…I mean wow. I love being around her you know? She has this energy about her. A childish energy. A joyful childish energy you normally only see in…children. But she can be a bit much. I can see that she would have required a lot of supervision while I was growing up."

"Yeah. Hey speaking of business, there is something we need to talk about." May as well bring this up now. While we were alone.

"What is that baby?"

"I kind of got a pass after my parents died. But now I am married and a few regular and past customers have made off hand comments and…"

"And what?"

"We have to go to church."

"Say what?"

"We have to go to church."

"What church?"

"Doesn't matter. Actually it does but we have a few choices."

"Why do we have to go to church?" she asked.

"Because we own a local business that does a lot of local work and locals like to see the people they deal with go to church."

"I…I…okay. When do we start this?"

"I was thinking when we came back from Forks."

"What do we do in…church?"

"Pretty much just sit and listen."

"But, I don't think I was raised that way. At least Charlie and Renee haven't mentioned it."

"Mary, we kind of have to if we want to keep local business. Now that we are married, we are kinda expected to be part of the adult community."

"What church do you want to go to?"

"Uh…like I said. It really doesn't matter. There are three major church groups we can belong to. Baptists, Catholics and Methodists."

"Did your parents go to Church?"

"Every Sunday." I told her. I had only recently gotten to the point I could think about my parents without feeling a pain in my chest. The joy she brought me, helped with that.

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"What church did you go to?"

"First Baptist in Lindale."

"Then that's the one we will go to." Mary replied. Decision made. Just like that.

"You don't mind?"

"I would do anything for you Bo. I can certainly go to church with you."

"Thank you Mary."

"Besides I don't want to lose our local business base while we are growing."

There is my girl.

"Also one other thing." May as well get it all out there.

"I don't have to be baptized do I? Because nobody is dunking me in a creek Bo."

"No, it's just we need to go to the High School Football game this Friday."

"Why? We don't know anyone on the team do we? Do you have a relative playing?"

"No. We just need to be seen there."

"At a high school football game?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Is this like the church thing?"

"Yep."

"Really? High school football?"

"Mary there are two major things that matter to small town Texans. High school football and church. The order of importance is determined by how well that year's team is doing."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah Mary. I'm serious."

"Did you play football?"

"Of course. Playing football is like being drafted in war. If you are an able bodied male you better be there, whether you like it or not."

"Wow." She whispered.

"Yep."

"Okay then. Do we have to wear team shirts or something?"

"Yeah. You know those blue and white shirts that are sold all over Lindale that has Eagles written on them?"

"That's a football team? I thought it was some new clothing brand."

I shook my head. "Don't ever say anything like that in public where you might be heard. If you are confused ask me quietly."

"Okay. Guess we are going to go cheer for the home team."

"Actually they are playing in Brownsboro tomorrow night so we will be going there."

"We have to go on road games?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Yep."

Mary took a deep breath. "Alright then. Anything else?"

"No that's it…for now." I whispered the last part.

"Okay. Now hurry up and get me home. I need to get laid."

Renee POV

I was asleep when Bella and Bo came home last night. Stephanie was the only one I shared my good news with. I swore her to secrecy. I was so proud of Phil. He knew how difficult this past year has been. He agreed without a second thought and already fixed everything.

Phil would have never let Bella run off.

Unlike Charlie.

It was my fault. 17 years of my baby's memories gone because she went to a miserable place so I could be a baseball roadie. I was never a good mother. But I do love her. I love her more than my own life. I shouldn't have let her put her happiness on hold so I could have mine. I would be more responsible. I would stop focusing on crap that didn't matter. With Charlie in Washington where he belonged, I could have my baby back. We could be a team again.

But this time I would pull my own weight. I would be more responsible. I would help her instead of holding her back. Charlie wasn't around. He had his chance. Now it was my chance again. He may have found her but he lost her in the first place.

I set my alarm for 6. No more sleeping in. I called my school yesterday and told them I wouldn't be back. Luckily for me that position opened up in Lindale for the Spring. And Phil…

I wasn't surprised to see the light on in the shed. I knew Bo and Bella got up early to work. She actually found someone as responsible as she was. Hot as hell too. My baby got lucky he found her. But she deserved him. From what I saw he deserved her too. I made a couple cups of coffee and walked out to the shed to tell them my good news. The door was closed. I opened it gently and saw…

My baby sitting on the desk naked with her back to me and her legs wrapped around her husband.

I dropped my cups of coffee.

I guess that caught their attention.

"Shit! Mom!" Bella yelled.

"Good morning baby. Apparently it is a very good morning for some of us." Good Lord, Bo's chest was ripped. Too bad she was covering up the rest of him.

"Mornin Renee." Bo smiled.

"Bo. Getting some work done early?"

"Yes ma'am. Just polishing the desk." He winked at me.

"Mom! Turn around!"

"Oh, of course." I turned around and heard Bella scrambling to get her clothes on.

"What are you doing up? You never wake up this early. You can turn around now."

I turned to see Bella pulling on a t shirt and Bo had put on jeans. Good Lord, those abs. Bella was looking good herself. She must be exercising. Now I know what kind of exercise she was doing.

"Oh, I wanted to tell you the good news!" She would be so happy.

"What is that Mom?"

"I got a job at Lindale Elementary teaching Kindergarten and Phil got a job at the high school coaching baseball! We are moving here baby!"

She was so happy she couldn't say anything. Bo was looking at me in surprise as well. I could tell he was happy though.

"Okay." Bella finally breathed out.

"I know you are excited. I mean, this is okay right? I just don't want to be away from you any longer, knowing you are alive."

"No Mom. It's fine. It's just a little surprising. First with Charlie moving here with Sue and her kids and now you…"

"What did you say?" I must not have heard that right.

"You didn't know? Charlie got a job here. We are going this weekend to help him move. He didn't tell me he was going to do it. I just found out last night. I thought you would have known."

"He is moving here?"

"Yeah. He got the house down the road from us."

That motherfucker.

"Okay. Phil is moving our things next week. We need to find a place to live. So when you are finished…working…come get me. I need to find a place and I want it close to you."

"Oh. Good…" Bella said quietly. I knew she would be excited.


	15. Chapter 15

Don't own it

Chapter 15

BPOV

I was a little nervous going to Forks. I didn't know what I would find. Apparently Sue lived on a reservation called La Push. I spent a lot of time there according to Charlie.

But on the bright side, I got to take a plane ride this time. Charlie, Bo and I had just got past security. We had thirty minutes to wait until we could board. I wonder if on this trip…

"Mr. and Mrs. Walker. How lovely to see you two again."

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I took a deep breath and turned around. I saw Bo was already holding in laughter. Asshole.

"Mr. Davenport." I said, glaring.

"Please call me Mark." He smiled.

"I would offer you my hand but since you prefer your little bows I will resist."

"My apologies, Mrs. Walker. Last time we met I had just had lunch and wasn't sure my hands were perfectly clean for you. You can never be too careful about shaking hands without knowing what they have recently…touched."

"Yes, I completely understand. What can I do for you today?" Grrrr.

"Nothing at all. I happened to notice the two newlyweds and could not believe my luck that the two of you are flying out of our airport again so soon."

"Do you know this man B…Mary?" Charlie asked. Thank God he remembered. The last thing I need is this guy hearing me called by another name.

"Yes. This is Mr. Mark Davenport, head of airport security."

"Nice to meet you Mark. Charlie Swan."

"Mr. Swan. I see the resemblance. Mrs. Walker must be your daughter."

"Yes, she is."

"I'm glad you will be with her and Mr. Walker on this flight." He winked at me. Asshole.

"Why is that?" Charlie asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about Dad." I stared daggers at the asshole.

"Oh no. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are very special passengers. Members of an exclusive club you might say."

"Mr. Davenport I appreciate you saying hi but we really don't want to keep you. I'm sure you have a lot of duties being responsible for the security of a huge airport. You probably have more important things to do."

"Of course Mrs. Walker. Remember if you have any problems on the flight, wardrobe malfunctions or anything else, don't be shy about asking the stewardess for assistance. Mr. Walker." Asshole nodded at Bo.

"Pleasure to see you again, Mark."

"Mr. Swan, a pleasure to meet you."

Asshole finally walked off smirking.

"What the hell was that all about?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know Dad. Strange guy. We met him when we flew in from our honeymoon. I guess he heard we weren't happy with the service in our area and wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Shouldn't someone other than airport security do that?"

"Look Dad! A plane is landing!" Thankfully.

"Yes it is Bella. This is an airport." Dad responded shaking his head.

I cringed at the name. Damn it, why don't he and Renee get it right? I mean why doesn't he and Renee get it right? Just because you call someone a name for 17 years doesn't mean you can't change a habit. I guess I could cut them some slack. Besides I was going to have to get used to it. I planned to keep Bo and I to ourselves as much as possible but people in Forks were bound to see me. The missing Bella Swan, back from the dead. According to what Sue told Charlie the news that I was alive and my memory was gone had made it around La Push and was filtering into Forks, fueled by the sudden resignation and departure of beloved Chief of Police, Charlie Swan.

The flight was uneventful. I laid my head on Bo's shoulder while he read a fishing magazine. Eventually I fell asleep and woke an hour before we approached Sea Tac. I sat in the back seat of the rental while Bo filled in Charlie on the fishing and hunting opportunities in Texas. Exciting…

We drove into Forks and I looked around, hoping to see something I recognized but knowing it was pointless.

Nothing. Just a really depressing looking small town. It was raining. Apparently it rained all the time. Renee wasn't kidding when she described it. It was exactly like she described it. Charlie liked this place?

We pulled into his front yard and he looked at me. I gazed around. I noticed the for sale sign. That was it. Nothing.

"Sorry." I whispered.

"Don't apologize, little girl. It's not your fault. It's mine."

"It's not your fault Dad." It was becoming more natural to call him Dad. If only I could get Charlie to start calling me Mary.

"Let's go inside. I can show you around. Everything is like you left it. Then we can grab a bite to eat and start packing." Charlie suggested.

Going inside I could see it was a nice house. You could definitely tell a man lived here alone for most of his life.

"So this is it. Not much but we were happy…I think."

"I'm sure I was Dad." I whispered. Damn it he was tearing up. I didn't need that.

"Your room is upstairs first door on the left. If you want to check it out."

Bo and I walked up the stairs and found it. It was purple. A lot of purple. There was an old computer at the desk. My sheets were still messed up from when I had last slept here. The window had a rocking chair next to it. It looked like a teenage girl had gotten up and walked out of here without cleaning. I opened my closet and felt Bo's hand on my shoulder. I leaned back into his.

"So this is where I waited for you, huh?" I whispered

"This is where you were hiding from me." He kissed behind my ear in that little spot he knows I love.

"You really liked denim." He commented.

"Yeah. You know I'm a blue jean kind of girl."

"What is with those clothes in the back?"

"Where?"

Bo moved around me and rooted into my closet. Hidden behind some sweaters were dresses. Looked like a blue prom dress. Also some dresses and skirts that were on very fancy hangers.

"That's weird." Bo commented.

"What?"

"These are really nice clothes. The names on those hangers are designer clothes. But it looks like you never wore them. Like you hid them."

"Guess I wasn't really into stuff like that."

"Then why do you have them?"

"I don't know. The blue one looks like something I would wear to a prom."

"Maybe you could take it home and model it for me." He smiled.

"No." I answered immediately.

"Why not? Something coming back?"

"No. It's just creepy. It's like…it's weird. Why would I have these clothes hidden?"

"I don't know."

"What were you hiding Bella?" I asked myself quietly.

"So it's a nice room." Bo commented, looking around.

"I guess. I kind of feel like an intruder. Or…"

"Or what?"

"Kinda like a ghost looking over someone else's room? Like I don't belong here anymore."

"You don't belong her anymore. You belong with me. You just got delayed here for a while." He said.

"I love you Bo."

"I know you do Mary. And you know I love you and worship the ground you walk on. Why don't we start going through things, see what you want to take with you."

I started walking around and saw a Senior memory book. Ironic. Opening it up it appears there weren't many pictures. What struck me was the photos that weren't there.

"Look Bo. There is glue on the pages like pictures were here and then taken out."

"Weird. Those other pictures must have been your friends."

"You think one of them is Edward Cullen?" I just got a shiver down my spine. I don't know what the story was with him, but whatever it was, it was obvious that our relationship was not healthy. The idea of him frightened me. I would hate to see him again. Not like Bo couldn't beat the hell out of him but still. Out of all the stories Renee told me and the bullshit Charlie threw at me, one thing was clear. Bad things happened to me when Edward Cullen was involved.

"I doubt it. Not one of these kids looks like Charlie described him."

"Charlie described him?"

"Yeah. I asked him what he looked like so I could have a clue if he ever showed up. He gave me a vague description. Tall, pale skin, sort of bronze thick, hair. Thin. Gold eyes."

"He mentioned his eye color?"

"Yeah. Apparently they stood out."

"Like the couple with Peter Whitlock the other night? They had gold eyes. Those can't be very common Bo."

"Yeah. Did you notice that Peter's wife had red eyes as well? Talk about not common. Her eyes weren't red the first time we saw them. I bet they wear contacts. Red eyes aren't natural." It made me feel better that I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Charlie knew them. I would bet all four of them."

"Yep."

"You think they were related to Edward? You think Edward knows where I am?" I was starting to panic a little.

"Calm down darlin. I'm sure Charlie would have told us at least that. If he thought Edward Cullen could find you, he would let us know. He would at least let me know. You know I don't keep secrets from you."

"Yeah. You are probably right. But still Bo. Gold eyes?"

"C'mon. Let's keep going." Bo began folding out boxes.

My eyes drifted to the computer. I turned it on and sat down brushing aside a book. The book fell off and hit the ground. I bent over and picked it up. Looked like a book on the legends of the Quileute tribe. That may be interesting.

"Bo, pack this book please."

"Okay." I handed it to him and turned to the computer. There was an icon that read email. I wonder if Charlie kept his internet connection up. Looked like a dial up. What the hell? Has the man been living in the stone age?

I dialed up the modem and helped Bo go through some things. Mostly books. I apparently did like Jane Austen. A copy of Wuthering Heights which I apparently read before. A hard bound book of Shakespeare's plays. The bookmark was on the beginning of Romeo and Juliet.

I finally heard the modem connect and went back to the computer. I opened the email icon. Password protected.

Now if I could only remember the password.

Amnesia jokes. If you can't laugh at yourself, who will?

"Whatcha doin Mary?" Bo was going through the bottom of my closet.

"I was going to check my email to see if I have any new messages over the past year but it is apparently password protected."

"Yeah. Now you just have to remember the password. Oh that's right. You can't." he laughed.

"Amnesia jokes are real classy Bo." I told him. If you can't laugh at yourself you husband will do it for you. Asshole. Still he made me laugh.

I looked around. What would be my password? I tried my name. My first name. Both first and last name. Maybe a character from a book?

Romeo? Nope. Juliet? Nope.

I took a deep breath. Charlie and Renee both said I had an unnatural obsession. Let's give it a shot, Mary.

Edward.

Access granted.

Fucking great.

"I got in." I said quietly.

"You remembered?" Bo asked quickly.

"Nope. I guessed."

"Edward Cullen, right?"

"Just his first name."

"Yeah, I was gonna suggest that but didn't want to piss you off." He said quietly without looking at me.

"Charlie and Renee both said I had an unnatural relationship with him. That's scary, Bo."

"It's in your past, Mary. Don't worry about who you were."

"It just doesn't make sense that I would become so obsessed that I would go catatonic over a boy leaving, Bo. Holy shit."

"What?" Bo asked.

"Look at these returned undeliverable emails. I was trying to email Alice Cullen."

I started reading the emails and they got worse and worse.

I was having delusions? Visions of Edward? Jake was making me feel better but I couldn't fill the hole in my chest. It hurt to say his name?

"Oh my God, Bo. I lost my fucking mind."

"Uh…"

God, I wish I hadn't shown him these.

"Mary…that's not you anymore."

"But why? Why was I so obsessed with him? That may not be me anymore but that wasn't me before I got here. Not according to Renee."

"I don't know Mary. We may never know. What are you doing?"

"There are at least 50 of these damn emails. I am forwarding them to my home account so I can look at them when I get back. I may find answers. Because right now it looks like I had a psychotic breakdown. I want to know why."

"Be…Mary! Bo! Let's go get something to eat at the Diner!" Charlie yelled from downstairs.

"Be right down! Give me five minutes!" I looked at Bo.

"Go distract him."

Bo began walking out and then fell to the ground. It scared the hell out of me. I had never seen Bo fall.

"Baby are you okay?" I rushed to him lying on the ground.

"Yeah. I think I tripped over that loose floorboard."

"Everything okay?" Charlie yelled.

"Yeah. Bo tripped over a box. We will be down in a minute. Let us finish packing."

Bo stood up and laughed.

"Damn. Haven't fallen like that in a while. At least sober."

"I bet I must have fallen a million times over it, if you did. I wonder why Charlie never fixed it."

We both looked at the floorboard.

"Hell, it's barely nailed in." Bo lifted it up and there was a space underneath it.

"This isn't safe." He murmured. We both looked into the space and saw it.

I should say them. Pictures. I am betting the pictures missing from my memory book. At least twenty of them. Letters. Plane tickets?

"Oh my God. Look at this Bo."

I showed him the photo. Myself, a boy who had his arms around me and two other couples. We were all smiling.

"I guess that is what Mr. Edward Cullen looks like."

"Yeah. Bo look at the couple next to me."

"Damn…"

"Yep. Rose and Emmett McCarty. I knew Charlie was lying. What do you want to bet their last names were really Cullen? This is proof Charlie knew them. This is proof they found me Bo."

Bo said nothing. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

"I won't let them hurt you Mary. You are mine. They can go to hell. I will send them there if I have to."

"Bella?" I heard Charlie from downstairs.

"I have to hide this stuff and send those emails. We have to know what happened Bo. My past is right behind me and catching up fast."

"Okay. What do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him I'm in the bathroom with female issues. That will shut him up."

Bo kissed me gently and went downstairs. I suddenly did not like being in here alone. I packed the pictures and letters in the box with my books and ran to the computer and started forwarding the emails. This had to be solved. I had a feeling something was coming for me. For us. And I needed to know. I needed to know what turned me into a complete lunatic. What made me go catatonic over a boy? Why I left for three days with Alice Cullen. Why I ran off in the middle of the night when I returned with Edward. I had to know.

I remembered Charlie's words. I was better off not knowing. But it was too late for that. I could ignore and burn a lot of this. Delete emails. But I couldn't avoid the fact that Rosalie and Emmett were related to Edward and they were sitting at a table with me and my husband, acting like they didn't know me. I forwarded the email as quickly as this dinosaur modem would allow and damn near killed myself running down the stairs. Charlie was waiting on me with a smile. Bo looked worried. He kept glancing up the stairs like something was chasing after me. Maybe something was.

Esme POV

I hated this. I had left Carlisle in London so he could work. Edward stayed with him because he couldn't bear to come back here. So it was left to me. I had to get rid of that damn house where our family came so close to being complete and then destroyed a young girl's life. A girl I loved like a daughter.

Edward won't go away. He knows I want him to. I blame him for everything. I blame myself for following him. I blame Carlisle for backing him. But most of the blame falls on him. He reads my mind every day, how badly I want him to leave. But he won't. He just stays at that fucking piano, playing all day. God I hate him. I expected to be called to Italy when Jane went back and reported that Bella was dead. We never were though. I guess Aro didn't give a damn. He probably wanted Bella for himself. As if I ever would have let that happen.

"Mrs. Cullen, I am surprised you came here to personally put your house up for sell. You know you could have just called."

"Yes Mrs. Granger. But I felt it was important to do this myself. Plus I needed to get away. London can be so dreary at times."

"Of course. Big changes coming to this town. Charlie Swan has put his home up for sell as well."

"He has?" That was surprise.

"Yes. Put it on the market last week and resigned by phone as Chief of Police. He is coming in later to sign some papers."

"He resigned?" The poor man must be devoting all his time to finding Bella. I wonder if there is some way I can help fund him without him knowing about it.

"Yes, but it is a wonderful thing. I can't blame him a bit. If I had found my daughter after so long thinking she was dead, I would never move away from her either."

If I had a heartbeat it would have stopped right then.

"I'm sorry? Did you say he found his daughter?"

"Oh that's right. You aren't up on the latest gossip are you? Course I'm sure a woman like you from a big city wouldn't be interested…"

"Please go on." Talk before I snap your neck.

"Well…"she turned her head both ways as if we weren't the only ones in this office. "It turns out she was kidnapped. I don't know all the details but the man who kidnapped her did this often. He took her all the way to Texas and left her on the side of the road. Rumor has it that he raped her the entire trip."

Oh God.

"Then he hit her over the head and left her for dead. A young man in Texas found her. She apparently had no memories. She lived with him for a year. Of course Charlie never stopped looking. When he found the man who took her, Charlie narrowed his search and discovered her the day she got married to the young man who took her in. I heard she still has no memories and will never get them back."

She whispered the last part, again, as if someone was in this office who could hear.

Bella was raped? That must be what happened to her in Indiana. But she has no memory. She's married?

"Did you say Chief Swan would be in later to sign papers?"

"Yes. Would you like to say hello? I know his daughter and your son dated." She was still whispering. There is no one else here you stupid bitch!

Calm down Esme.

"Actually as I'm sure you know, Chief Swan was quite convinced that Edward had something to do with Bella's disappearance. I would appreciate it if you could keep my presence in town, just between us." I winked at her.

"Of course Mrs. Cullen. I have to keep my clients happy." She winked back. Ignorant bitch.

I walked out of the office and drove off. I had to get my car to the house in the garage. Then I would run back. I would follow Charlie Swan. Wherever he moved I would follow. Bella may have no memories but I had to see that she was alright. Maybe she was here with Charlie?

I wanted to call Carlisle. Then it hit me. I couldn't go back.

If I told Carlisle, Edward would read it in my thoughts. If I went back, Edward would read it in my thoughts. Edward had ruined her life already twice. I wouldn't give him a third chance. If I had to stay away from Carlisle for a hundred years I would. He and Edward were not going to find Bella. But I would.

Driving to the house brought back many memories. Good and bad. Cooking for Bella. Watching the joy on Alice's face at having a friend for the first time. A real friend. Hugging her. Cooking for her. Watching Edward be so…

Edward was happy wasn't he? But that wasn't enough for him. He had to destroy that because he hated himself too much to be happy. Would he stay away from Bella if he knew? If he knew that she was living the normal human life he wanted for her.

No. No he wouldn't. He drew her in. All vampires can do it. She never had a chance against seven of us. Poor kid. She loved us. That much was true. We loved her. That much was certain. Usually humans are cautious of us until we decide to draw them in. A soft voice. A smile. We tried not to overwhelm her. Most humans who are around vampires and feel that draw are dead within seconds. She was the only human that I had heard of who had prolonged exposure to a group of vampires in her everyday life.

Judging by what I heard about her after we left, I guess we know the effects on the human when that is taken away. We destroyed her. Then she ran towards more vampires to save Edward and he turned her away again.

But he wouldn't have left her. He would have stayed with her. Eventually the desire to have him would have won out. He would have found a way to justify it to himself. He would have turned her.

Bella at least had an excuse for her unnatural obsession with Edward. Edward had no excuse for his unnatural obsession with Bella.

He complained so much when we returned, when he found out about her close relationship with Jacob Black. He said it was because he wanted no supernatural beings in her life. As if it was his decision. As if it wasn't way too late for that. He was jealous. We all knew it. Should we have found Bella, he would have taken her and never returned her. Not with Jacob in Forks.

He absolutely could not find out. Carlisle…

If anyone was ever called by the Volturi it would be Carlisle and Edward. Perhaps Alice but Jasper could protect her. It broke my heart but Carlisle could not know either, whether I told him to send Edward off or not.

I had a difficult call to make. It would hurt him. I never wanted him to have to choose. But it had to be done. I would choose for him. I found his name and hit send.

"Esme! How is everything? Is something wrong? Are the Volturi there?"

"Hello Carlisle. We need to talk. Are you alone?"

"Yes. Edward is hunting. I finally convinced him to eat."

What a baby. It wasn't like eating was going to keep Bella from coming back. He wanted pity. Fuck pity. I hope he starved to death.

"Carlisle, I am not coming back."

He said nothing for a few seconds.

"How long are you staying in Forks?"

"I'm not staying in Forks, Carlisle. I am going off on my own. I will draw the cash and cashier's checks I need from here. Then I am leaving. Do not follow me."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet."

Near wherever Bella was. That much was certain. I let Carlisle convince me to choose Edward over Bella once. I wouldn't make the same mistake again. I would watch her. If she wasn't happy I would change her. She could me my companion, just as Edward was Carlisle's. But only if she wasn't happy.

"Esme if this is about Edward…you said you didn't mind him staying. I will make him leave."

"It's not about Edward. Not completely. Being here brings back too many memories of what we did to Bella. I can't…I followed you, Carlisle. She died. I don't know if I can be around you any longer."

"Esme please. I'm sorry. I will do anything."

"Then give me space. Don't try to find me. Respect my wishes. And keep your damn son away from me as well."

"Can we at least take some time to think about this? Can you give me that much?"

"I have thought about this too long Carlisle. The day you let Edward take control of our family was the day you lost me. Neither of us knew it yet. But it is still true."

"I see. Can I see you to perhaps give you your possessions?"

"No. You have nothing I want. Burn them for all I care. If you truly love me Carlisle, you will respect my wishes. If you try to find me or send Edward, I will know you do not love and respect me. Do you understand?"

"Yes…yes Esme."

"Goodbye Carlisle."

I ended the call before he could say anything else. It hurt. It hurt even worse knowing I hurt him. This had to be done though. I abandoned her before. I won't make the same mistake again.

Peter POV

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"What is it Peter?" Rose asked. Nosy bitch. I decided the best way to keep an eye on her and her gorilla was to move to Dallas and move them in with Char and I. Having them around reminded me of why I never wanted to be in a coven in the first place after I left Maria.

"I have a feeling more company is coming. Something I just know."

"Is it Edward? The Volturi?" Emmett asked. So ready for a fight. Ignorant child. Still though, I like his spirit.

"No. Worse. I think it is Esme Cullen."


	16. Chapter 16

Don't own it

Chapter 16

BPOV

"So it's nice to meet you Emily."

"It's so good to see you again. You look…beautiful. I'm sorry I wasn't there for your wedding. When I heard I really, really wanted to but there wasn't enough time."

Shit.

"So, I hear we were…are…best friends?" This wasn't awkward at all.

"Yes. At least you were my only real female friend and I am pretty sure I was yours. You and Leah got along but I like to think we were…close."

"How did we become friends?"

"Jacob. As I'm sure you noticed, Sam and Jacob are close. All the guys are. Jake brought you around and we met."

"Yeah, I noticed all the guys are close and, well, big."

"Yes…" Emily said, I guess agreeing.

"So what is the story with those guys? The way they all hang out. The size? The muscles? The incredible body heat coming off them. It seems like they are all running fever. I could feel it through my clothes when they all hugged me."

"Its,uh, a genetic thing." She said quietly.

"They are all related?"

"No…" she replied. She wasn't looking at me. I guess Emily was a member of the lie to Mary club as well.

"All the tribe isn't like that. At least that I saw." I pressed.

"Yes. I mean no, they aren't." Emily was definitely getting nervous now. May as well go for it.

"Emily I need help. I am trying to understand what happened to me while I was here. Before I left and got taken. You are my friend. I need you to be honest. Tell me about Edward Cullen."

The look on her face told me that was the last thing she expected.

"Uh, what do you want to know Bella? I mean he was gone when we met each other so I never actually met him."

"But you were my best friend. I must have told you if he had been abusive, like I have been told. Why I reacted the way I did when he left. I must have said something."

"Bella…"

"Start talking or start calling me Mary. If you were my friend, if you consider me a friend still and you want me to consider you a friend Emily, I need you to tell me the truth. The truth about why I lost my damn mind because a boy left me."

"Bella, I can't. You need to forget about Edward Cullen. He was bad for you. You have a good life now. Be happy."

"Yeah but that is a problem Emily. I am happy. But I am also afraid. My father found me. Your Sam found me. How do I know he won't find me Emily? I don't like being afraid. I need to know what I am up against here."

"No you don't, Bella. You really don't."

"Okay." I took a deep breath. Uley wasn't going to tell me anything. Neither was his fiancée. Neither were his boys. I would have to wait to get Leah alone in Texas. Away from him. Something strange about him. Those giants seemed to rotate around him and Jacob. They took their lead from the two of them.

Why did I like Sam? We had obviously been close. He said he saw me as a little sister. I was supposedly best friends with his fiancée. Why wouldn't they tell me the truth? Not only the truth. They would not tell me anything. They expected me to go off in blissful ignorance and be happy with that. They didn't know me well apparently. Maybe I was clueless before. But I wasn't now.

"So when are you and Sam getting married?"

"Uhm, this summer."

"Congratulations Emily."

"Thank you Bella." Damn it she was tearing up again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What's wrong? I thought you were dead for a year! Now you are here and you are mad at me because I don't want to talk about your worthless fucking ex! I love you Bella. Ever since this happened…" she motioned to her scarred face… "I haven't had any real friends. Leah hated me because Sam and I were together. My old friends tried to act normal around me but I could tell they didn't want to look at me. You were the only one who ever made me feel normal. I have been so lonely since you were gone. I want to tell you about him Bella. I want to tell you what an evil bastard he was. How he nearly destroyed you. But nothing good would come out of it."

"What if he comes after me, Emily?"

"Sam protected you once and he will again! He would die before he lets you get hurt by that bastard!" Emily was getting way too emotional. I needed to back off.

"Look I'm sorry, Emily. Maybe I should go. I didn't come here to upset you."

"No! I'm sorry. I just…Bella I missed you so much." She was full on crying now. I reached over and hugged her. She grabbed onto me. I could feel her tears seeping through my shirt. Great job Mary. Make your old friend cry at your reunion.

"It's okay. Look let's talk about something else. Tell me about your wedding."

"Well we have been engaged for so long, sometimes I wondered if it would ever come. But I am glad we waited. You were going to be my maid of honor. I hope you still will."

Oh. Wow.

"You want me too? Even though…"

"Bella, I don't have any friends besides you."

"Oh. Of course I will Emily. Of course."

"Thank you." She used her sleeve to wipe her eyes.

"So tell me everything. From being woke up on the side of the road by a Texas hunk to getting married. I want to hear it all."

I took a deep breath and began to talk. It felt good. I felt natural around her. I could see why I was close to her. She was easy to talk to. Funny. She listened. I wish she didn't feel the need to hold back from me.

We talked for three hours. It was nearly three. I needed to get to Bo. He had been with the "boys." All afternoon.

God knows what they have gotten into.

As I was walking out, Sam was walking in. He hugged me. Still burning up. Guess its genetics huh?

"Where is my husband?" I asked smiling.

"He is still with the guys. They are down by the beach. We all went hiking earlier."

"Everything okay?"

"No. Everything is great. He and Jacob are especially…bonding."

"Great. Glad to hear it." I bet they were.

"Yeah. You should probably go find them on the Beach. Just take that path over there. I need to help get dinner ready for everyone tonight. We are grilling in the backyard so be back in a couple hours okay?"

"Okay." I stopped.

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah Bells?"

"Charlie told me you found me in the woods after Edward left me there?"

"Yes, Bella."

"That was the first time I met you right?"

"Yes."

"So you saved me?"

"I found you and helped you out." He smiled.

"But you did more right?"

That caught his attention.

"What do you mean Bella?" Damn that was getting old. If they had a second identity I would make an effort to try to call them by their new name.

"Emily said you protected me once and you would again."

"Yes. Yes I would."

"What were you protecting me from?"

"What?"

"She didn't say you saved me. She said you protected me. What were you protecting me from Sam? Edward was gone when you met me."

"She must have meant when I found you Bella. That's all."

"Okay. See you in a couple hours." Liar.

He looked relieved. Too bad. I wasn't done with him yet.

"Sam? Did I ever tell you why I just didn't follow Edward out of the forest?"

"What do you mean?" he wasn't looking at me.

"He left me. I was lost. But it seems like I could have just followed him out. Why did I go so deep in the forest? It doesn't make sense. A lot of things don't make sense. Charlie wants me to forget it. Not ask questions. Maybe that's who I was. But it isn't who I am anymore. I have a husband to look after. I have a new life to protect. I'll be damned if I am going to not know what could be coming from the past to endanger me or my family now."

"No danger from your past is out there, Bella."

"Where is Edward Cullen then Sam? Where is his family?"

Sam said nothing. Color me surprised.

"Be back in a couple hours Sam. I got a husband that needs looking after."

Bo POV

Why did I agree to this again? Hey Bo, why don't you go hiking with the boys and I will visit with Emily? Sure, sounds fine Mary. But shouldn't I help Charlie at Sue's place? No, we have plenty of time. Find out information.

I found out information all right. I have been in these fucking wet woods for three hours. Two of these guys were in love with my wife and the rest thought they were way funnier than they actually were.

"So Bo, do you have bears in Texas?" Quil asked.

"No. If we did they wouldn't last long I'm afraid. Too slow."

"Oh that's right. Big tough Texans, right Bo?" Jake asked.

"Well we ain't as well known as the big tough west coast guys from Washington State, but we try to hold our own." Asshole.

"So Bo, tell us what's it's like to find a wife the way you did. Pretty nice and easy right?" Paul asked.

"What do you mean Paul?"

"You know. You find a pretty girl on the side of the road. No memory. No way to support herself. You happen to take her in and become the big hero. Help her out. Give her a job, working for you. Must have been pretty easy to get her to fall in love with you right? I mean what? You guys get engaged after maybe 6 months?"

I was seriously beginning to hate this guy.

"I helped out someone who needed help."

"So if it had been a 50 year old overweight bald guy, you would have moved him in too?"

Yep. I officially hated this guy.

"I don't know what I would have done Paul. All I know is I fell in love with her the moment I looked into her eyes. Love at first sight. You guys know anything about that?"

That shut them up. They were all looking at each other now.

"I mean you must have known the first time you saw Rachel that she was the one, right Paul?"

Still nothing. They were beginning to look uncomfortable. Hmmm.

"What about you Sam? I bet when you saw Emily that had to be it for you? The moment you knew?"

"I have to get back and get started grilling the steaks for dinner. I will catch up with you guys later." Sam said, walking away.

"No problem Sam. We are going to take Bo to First Beach. Show him the scenery." Jake said.

We walked without saying much finally reaching the beach. I admit. It was beautiful. Gray. Much different than the Texas coast. Not sunny. Wild though. Huge waves out past the reef. Cliffs on both sides. Beautiful.

"Wow."

"Yeah. It never gets old. Bella loved it out here. We used to hang out at the big piece of driftwood down the beach. Hang out for hours, just talking." Jake said. I looked and saw the rest were playing with a soccer ball down the beach. Apparently Rachel and Jarrod's girlfriend, I think her name is Kim, had already arrived. That left me and Jacob.

"Jake did you fall in love with Mary after Edward left or have you always been in love with her?" May as well get this out in the open.

"I fell in love with Bella when she first moved to Forks. I never got to see her much until Cullen left." He said without looking at me.

"And Paul?"

"Paul loves my sister."

"Yeah. And Paul?"

"I suspect the first time he saw her. She slapped him. Paul likes that sort of thing."

"You think if I slapped him he would like me better?"

Jake actually laughed.

"No, he probably wouldn't have a good reaction. He has a temper problem at times."

"So how are you doing with all this?" May as well try to make friends.

"With what? Thinking the only girl I ever loved was dead? Finding out that she was alive and had no recollection of me at all despite being best friends? The fact that I was so in love with her I would die for her and when I found her I had to watch her marry you?"

So maybe we wouldn't be friends.

"Yeah. How you doin with all that?"

"How do you fucking think I am doing?"

"Getting better every day?" I'm an optimist.

"Try again."

"So tell me about the Bella you knew. Is she a lot different now?" Mary wanted information. So far I had learned nothing I hadn't already known.

"She is pretty much the same now. She just has horrible grammer and talks a lot slower."

"Really? I'm just getting to where I can understand her 90% of the time."

"You got lucky."

"Yep."

"She was supposed to be with me." He said.

"Don't appear so, does it?"

"You stole her. You took advantage of her when she needed someone."

"So you were just being noble when you became her best friend after Cullen left?"

"She came looking for me." He replied.

"You had your shot. You didn't get her. If you had she never would have ran. Get over it."

So he was starting to piss me off a little bit.

"There is a pretty high divorce rate in the US." Jake commented, staring at the waves.

"Where I come from there is a pretty high death rate for smart ass motherfuckers who think they are going to take another man's wife." I stared at the waves as well. They were pretty.

"You think you're a bad ass, don't you?" he asked.

"Nope…wait, yeah. Yeah I do."

"I could beat you to the point they would need DNA samples to identify you."

"I could rip your steroid shrunken nuts off and feed them to a rattlesnake for an afternoon snack." This back and forth dialogue is good for relationship building.

"You will never be worthy of her your redneck piece of shit." Keep staring at the waves and smiling.

"You have to live with the fact that I get into bed every night with her moaning underneath me and I wake up every morning with her draped on top of me."

"You goddamn hick."

"Stupid fucking child. Nice tattoo. Real original. Only seen it on every other guy you hang out with. Is that a boy band thing? Or some kind of secret club house?"

"I will fucking kill you."

"I'd love to see you try you motherfuck…"

"Hey you two! I've been looking for you baby." Mary said, walking up behind me.

I turned around and pulled her in my arms. She kissed me and I took a step further because I love the taste of her tongue in my mouth and I wanted to piss this little shit off.

"Damn baby. Did ya miss me?" she smiled.

"Couldn't stop thinkin about you. I found a few places while hiking I would love to take you to."

"I bet you did lover." She kissed me again and I let my hands drop to her little ass and squeezed. Damn I loved her body.

"So what have you and Jake been up to?"

"Just enjoying the scenery. Jake was telling me about what great 'Friends' you were. It's cool that a girl and a guy can be best friends without it ever going farther. You don't see that often. Apparently you saw Jake like a little brother. What are you Jake? Two years younger than Mary? Three?"

"No I guess you don't see that often. How are you doing Jake?"

"Doing great 'Bella'."

"Glad to hear it." She replied.

"Bella, do you think we could talk later? Alone?" Jake asked.

"No Jake. Probably wouldn't be appropriate. Bo is my husband and we don't have secrets, unlike some people around here. If you want to talk to both of us alone, we would be glad too. C'mon Bo. I want you with me. I need to help Emily with dinner. You can peel the potatoes."

"Sounds good darlin." Mary walked in front of me and I turned around and shot both fingers at Jake while mouthing fuck you and giving him a big smile.

We walked thirty yards towards the steps leading from the beach to the parking lot.

"Really Bo?"

"What?"

"I heard you turn around. I know you weren't getting a last gaze into his eyes. Was that necessary?"

"Oh darlin you have no idea how necessary it was." I told her truthfully.

She laughed. "Fine. But don't be getting into fights. Not here. Those boys…something isn't right with them."

"Ya think? The smallest one is Seth. And they hang out like a pack of dogs. You never seem to see one of them alone. Plus they all have the same tattoo. I saw it on Jake's shoulder and on the others when we got to the beach and they decided to take off their shirts. Those who were wearing shirts."

"You work without a shirt on."

"Only cause you like it."

"I thought it was because of the heat?" she asked, grinning. May as well come clean.

"I never worked a day in my life without a shirt on until the first time you came into that shed."

"You seduced me!" she was smiling. She already knew.

"Like you weren't seducing me when you laid out in that tiny bikini sunbathing in front of the shed?"

"I was not. I didn't even know you were home."

"Okay. Whatever." She hit my shoulder.

"It's true!"

"Okay." I told her. She hates that.

"Fine. Did you find out anything?"

"No. Not really. They are a strange bunch but we already knew that. What about you?"

"Emily is in on their secret and intent on me not finding it out."

"You think they are just hiding information about Cullen?"

"Nope. The tattoos, the size, the body heat, the way they hang out together and take their cues from Sam and Jake. They have their own secrets they don't want me to know about. They know something about the Cullens. I have a feeling I used to know. Something they decided not to tell me after they realized I lost my memory. You know Emily told me not to worry about it? She said Edward was an evil bastard and Sam protected me once and would do it again."

"Protected you from what? Cullen?" I asked. That was a strange thing to say.

"No. Edward was already gone when Sam found me in the forest. And what I was doing so deep in the forest makes no sense either. Especially as clumsy as I have been in the past."

"And now."

"I'm not as clumsy now."

"Yeah a little bit." I said quietly but she could hear me.

"You plan on getting lucky tonight?" Mary asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I wasn't aware luck had anything to do with it but if you are referring to making love to my wife, then yes. Yes I do."

"Then you better lay off, Bo."

"Yes ma'am. How about a walk in the forest, while we have a little time before dinner?" I could show her the fallen tree I happened to notice.

"Sounds like someone wants to go wood shopping for a new desk." She rolled her eyes but walked with me towards the woods. Bo is gonna get lucky.

I walked towards the tree keeping close to her in case her non clumsy self, fell on her cute little ass. That's when we saw her. Or him. No it was definitely long blond hair.

She was off a ways behind some brush. I could barely make out a human form.

"You see that?" I whispered.

"Yeah. Is that a woman?" Mary was seeing her too. Thank God I wasn't seeing things.

Suddenly our attention was torn from her by a series of loud howls. In the middle of the day.

"What the hell is that?" I whispered.

"Sounds like wolves." Mary whispered back.

We both turned towards the woman to warn her. She was gone. No trace she had ever been there.

We were in an unknown giant forest with chicks who disappear in less than a second and big fucking wolves somewhere around us. I looked to my right and could hear the footsteps. I pulled my gun from the back, where it stayed underneath my shirt. I pushed Mary behind me and turned in the direction I heard the ground pounding.

The running passed us. I would guess about 50 yards away. I couldn't see what caused it. Too many damn trees.

"You brought a gun?" Mary asked, when the footsteps were gone.

"Yeah. We are in an unknown forest. I don't go into woods I know without a gun. You know that."

"Sorry. I forgot. Bo that sounded like a damn stampede. No way those were wolves."

"Yeah? Well I don't know what they are but the howls definitely sounded like Coyotes. Since there aren't any here, it had to be wolves."

"They were so loud." She whispered.

"Yeah. I know. Maybe we should hold off on visiting Bo's hiding place for a while and head back to Sam's. I don't like you being out here."

"Fine. Holster your gun though. I don't want you to shoot yourself by tripping over a root."

I had to turn around at that.

"What the hell…" okay. She was smiling. It was good. I thought for a minute she was questioning my skills as a woodsman.

"What do you think happened to that woman, Bo? She wasn't native. From what little I could see of her she looked pale."

"You think she may be related to the Cullens? Following us?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "Fuck if I know, anymore. Lets' get back to Sam and Emily's."

We walked at a brisk pace getting out. Whatever the fuck was going on out there, I didn't want Mary anywhere near it.

Walking into Sam's place Emily greeted us at the door. She looked very nervous.

"Oh good, you two are back."

"Yep." I agreed. We were back.

"Did you enjoy your stroll? See anything interesting?"

I was about to answer when Mary did for me.

"Nope. Just a beautiful forest." Okay then. That's how we were going to play this. Seemed like a good plan.

"Bo, could you check on the steaks? Sam had to run to the store."

"Of course. I figured some of the other guys would be here by now." I asked, looking around.

"Oh, those boys are always playing around until the last minute. Charlie just called and he and Sue are on their way over."

"That right?"

"Yes. That's right." Emily wouldn't look either of us in the eyes.

"Bella would you mind helping me with the side dishes? You were always better at them than I was."

"Of course. Do you think you could, and maybe get the guys to start, calling me Mary? It's kind of freaking me out being called Bella all the time. Especially since everyone wants me to forget who Bella was."

"Oh, of course Bella. I mean Mary." The two walked out and I was left alone. May as well go check on the steaks. I walked out the front to take a look one more time and saw…wow.

Jake, and Sam and their friends had been joined by Leah and Seth. They were walking out of the woods. Only Leah had a shirt on. They all stopped when they saw me.

I smiled.

"So what have you guys been up too?"


	17. Chapter 17

Don't own it

Chapter 17

BPOV

I used to work here? Interesting. I like to camp and fish with Bo but I never saw myself as the outdoor type.

"This place is kind of small." Bo noted.

"Well it's not that small for around here, I suppose."

"All this forest? You would think the local outfitter would have more selection." That was annoying.

"How much selection do you need? You want a tent? There is a tent. You want a gun? There are like 30 of them over there. Want a knife? There are some knives. I mean how big a store do you need Bo?"

Bo looked at me with the same look he gives me every time we walk into one of these stores. Like he is trying to figure out why he brought me. I was still trying to figure that out as well. At last Newton's was smaller than Bass Pro Shop. He dragged me around for three hours in that damn store.

"Something tells me you must not have been the top salesperson at this place." He commented.

"Yeah, you are probably right." I admitted. I worked here? Then again I suppose there isn't a lot of choice in a town this small. It's either this or asking if you would like fries with that.

"Bella?"

"Oh shit." I whispered under my breath.

I turned around and saw a pretty sandy blonde girl staring at me with wide eyes.

"Do I know you? No wait. We must have gone to school together right?"

"Oh my God, it's true. You lost your memory. I can't believe I am seeing you again. I can't believe you are in town."

"Yep. It's me. Yayyy…" I was hoping to avoid this. But after the tension in La Push I thought some Forks time might be good. When Jacob and Sam's gang walked out of the woods they pretty much avoided talking to Bo and I the rest of the night. No one was very talkative. Not even Charlie. They all seemed tense about something. They kept asking us how our walk in the woods went. I kept saying short and uneventful. They want their secrets? I can have mine as well. We stayed the night in Charlie's house, even though Emily tried her hardest to talk us into staying with her. I wanted to go through some more of those emails. I read them all once quickly. Quickly enough to know there was more than a psychotic breakdown going on here. I seemed depressed. I seemed lonely. I was having visions but the way I wrote…it didn't seem like I was insane. More like I had a secret I couldn't talk to anyone about besides Alice. It must have been about Edward.

"I…am…Jessica."

Great. Now she is talking to me like I have brain damage.

"I… am… Mary." I replied, as slowly as she did. Probably shouldn't encourage her.

"Mary? Oh you poor thing. You don't know who you are do you? How have you been? I heard you got married. In Texas?"

"Yeah. This is my husband, Bo." Bo acted like he wanted to get away. Fuck that. If I had to stand here and make small talk he was as well.

"Wow. Is it true you were raped constantly?"

What the fuck?

"Excuse me?"

"The rumor is you were kidnapped by a psychotic guy who raped you all the way to Texas."

I took a deep breath. We are only here a few more days, Mary.

"No. I was kidnapped, but I wasn't raped."

"Oh…" This bitch seemed disappointed. Sorry to disappoint.

"So did we used to be friends?" I asked hesitatingly. No way, right?

"Yes. We were best friends."

I seemed to have a lot of those. I'm calling bullshit on this one. Hey, wait a minute. "Bo, could you see if you could find me a rain coat?"

"You have a … yeah I can do that." Good boy. He catches on fast. Time to get some information from someone who doesn't hang out half naked in the forest with Sam Uley and Jacob Black.

"Jessica can I ask you some questions about my old life?" I said quietly.

"Of course."

"Tell me about my relationship with Edward Cullen. What was that all about?"

"Oh. That's right. You have no memories."

Yeah. I thought we covered that.

"What do you mean?" I asked politely. Don't be sarcastic to the girl we need info from.

"You and Edward. You were the It couple. You were the only girl he ever dated from our school. Everybody wanted him. Except me. Because I had Mike. I was not interested. Really."

"So how long did we go out? My Dad doesn't like to talk about him."

"You began going out about 2 months after you started school here. You dated all through that summer until he moved at the beginning of our senior year. After that you…"

"I what?"

"You became very, very depressed. You didn't talk to us much any longer. You hardly ate. You never went out. You didn't take it very well." She was being serious. I could tell. She almost felt sorry for me.

"But your husband now is freaking hot. I wish I could rope me in a guy like that. And at our age? Wow. Are you pregnant?"

"No. I'm not pregnant. Was there anything unusual about my relationship with Edward besides the break up?"

"Yes. Why? What have you heard?" She seemed excited. Weird chick this Jessica.

"Nothing. No one wants to talk about it." I acted frustrated. It wasn't hard.

"The two of you were very…intense. You were always together. I mean he treated you like you were this breakable doll. You sort of rotated around him. It was a little weird. Pretty serious for a high school relationship, no matter how gorgeous he was."

I frowned. I had already figured this out myself.

"While the two of you were together, you pretty much hung out with his family."

"You knew his family?" This could be interesting.

"Everybody knew them but nobody ever really knew them. Except you of course. They were strange. Only two of them were related by blood. Rosalie and Jasper."

"Jasper?" I asked. Not Emmett.

"Yes. He was a strange one. Always looked like he was hurting or at least very tense. Like he was always concentrating on something. Alice and you were really close. You and Rosalie didn't speak much. Her boyfriend Emmett was always nice to you though."

Nothing new. So I was close to most of them. Interesting that Rose wasn't close to me but she was the one who saw me in the airport and obviously tracked me to Hide a Way. What else?

"Jessica, was there anything strange about the Cullens?"

"You mean besides everything?" she was smiling. She liked to gossip. This was good.

"Tell me about it. What was strange?"

"They all were foster children of Doctor and Mrs. Cullen. They dated each other. Alice and Jasper and Rose and Emmett. Edward never dated until he met you. But they never socialized with anyone. They stayed to themselves. Very quiet. Very creepy almost. They were all beautiful. Pale skin. Paler than you. There was also the eye thing."

That caught my attention.

"Eye thing?"

"Yes. They all had gold eyes. But they weren't related. We all figured it must be a weird Cullen thing. All wearing gold contacts. When they didn't have contacts in their eyes were black. I don't know. Maybe they wore black contacts as well. It was kind of strange. We all joked about when you would start wearing golden contacts." She laughed a little and then stopped when she realized I wasn't laughing.

Golden eyes. All of them? There has to be something important about the eyes. I was beginning to think they weren't contacts. Red, gold or black.

"Do you think it is possible he was…abusing me?" I whispered. A girl like her would know everything, true and untrue.

"Abusing you? No, why? Did he? Of course, you wouldn't remember. But why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why my father didn't like him."

"If your father thought he was abusing you, not liking him would be the least of Edward Cullen's problems. But Edward treated you, I don't know. I mean he didn't like for you to be around other people. He was kind of possessive like that. He seemed like the jealous type. But there was never any indication of abuse that I saw. He seemed to worship the ground you walked on. Made quite a few girls jealous. Not me of course, but other girls. You always looked so happy when the two of you were together. I couldn't imagine him abusing you."

I figured as much. Edward Cullen didn't abuse me. What else could I get from her?

"It's strange to see you with a husband. Did you even graduate high school?" she asked.

"Yes. I graduated in Texas." I replied, thinking this was better than saying I got a fake identity that came with a high school diploma and a really great GPA. I scored well on the SATs also.

"So is it true your husband saved your life?"

"Yes."

"He moved you in with him?" She was so nosy. This girl was born to be a tabloid reporter.

"Yes. I had my own room. I live with him and his sister and her son."

"That is so cool. You are so lucky, Bella. Going from one hot guy to marrying another."

Lucky? I suppose I had been since I met Bo. But it doesn't seem like I was that lucky before.

"Darlin, you ready to go? I couldn't find a rain coat in your size." Bo said walking up.

"Yeah babe. Let's go get something to eat. It was good to meet you…or to meet you again, Jessica. Thank you for the chat."

"Totally no problem. It was good to see you. I'm glad you weren't raped by a mad man half way across the country."

"Uh…thank you?" Bo was gently pushing me out. "Bye now!"

We reached the safety of the sidewalk.

"Did you hear?"

"Yep." He answered. I knew he would be listening.

"What do you think?"

"That I am married to one half of the most popular couple in Forks High School history."

"I mean about everything else, idiot." He was smiling at least.

"The golden eyes thing is weird."

"Yep."

"It doesn't sound like Cullen abused you."

"Nope."

"So what was so weird about your relationship? It seems like you two were close, right up until he left you in the woods."

"Woods that I ran deeper into instead of following him out. Why did he take me to the woods anyway? Strange place to break up."

Bo took a deep breath.

"Look we know there was something weird about your relationship with him and it seems the whole family. We know two of them have found us but we don't know why they acted like they didn't know you. We know they are familiar with Peter Whitlock, the guy who gave you a free identity. That little fact makes me very nervous. It was no accident that the four of them were at Roadies. They had to have followed us from our house. That means…" Uh oh.

"Shit. That means they were watching our house." I responded, following his train of thought.

"Okay. I know what our next step is."

He does?

"You do?"

"Yep. Let's go to the corner store and get directions to the Cullen House. See if they left anything."

Yeah, except…

"Bo, I am sure it's locked."

"Probably. But if we happened to find it unlocked by an unknown person we would need to go and investigate. We wouldn't be good citizens if we didn't."

"You want to break into the Cullen house, don't you?" I asked smiling at him.

"I wouldn't mind taking a peek."

"What if they find us? I mean what if they followed us here?"

"I would prefer it. If we can find them watching we can get some answers. We know who they are and what they look like now. At least the kids. They can't sneak up on us anymore. Now you want to go break into a house with me or am I going to have to do this myself?"

I took a deep breath. Looks like we were goin to jail. Too bad Charlie resigned already.

Esme POV

"What are you doing here, Irina?"

"I'm looking for Laurent. He was coming to visit you. We found out later from Carlisle that you had already moved. But he never made it back. So I thought I would come look for him. What are you doing here Esme? Eleazer spoke to Carlisle and I understand you left him over the Bella incident?"

Bella incident? Bitch.

"Yes. I came to put the house up for sell and decided I couldn't go back."

"Harsh. The man turned you. He saved your life Esme."

"Yes, he did." I nodded. Go away Irina. Why did this bitch have to stop by? The only Denali I can stand is Carmen.

"You think the Volturi will punish him and Edward for not turning Bella?"

"I really don't know." I said honestly.

"You are involved in that as well. Your whole family is involved."

"There is no family, Irina. Not any longer. I suppose if the Volturi want to come after me, I will deal with it."

She smirked. "I doubt they care about you. They are only interested in Alice and Edward. You will probably be all right."

"Yes, I probably will. Either way I don't really care. I have gotten a hundred years more than I expected."

"When did you become so fatalistic?" Irina asked, surprised at my answer.

"When you lose someone you love who is so young, I suppose it puts things in perspective. I knew it when I lost my son and I knew it when I lost Bella."

Maybe she will find a young man she actually cares about one day. Of course she will probably mostly be fucking him in the back of his parents van. Slut.

"Did you know there is a wolf pack in La Push?"

"Yes."

"Do you think they killed Laurent?"

"I'm sure I wouldn't know anything about that. Maybe you should ask them." Go to La Push and ask them.

"I was there yesterday. I saw the loveliest couple walking in the forest. Then I was running for my life from a pack of horse sized wolves."

"Oh my! Thank the Lord you escaped." Dammit wolves! Why can't you move faster?

"I think I am going to stick around for a while. Watch them. See what the situation is. Find out if they had anything to do with Laurent disappearing."

"And what if they did?"

"I suppose I will have to decide then, won't I?" she smiled.

"Good luck with that."

I have bigger things to do. Have fun becoming a chew toy.

"I guess I will be leaving. It was a pleasure as always Esme. Good luck on your new found freedom."

"Good luck finding your…friend."

Irina left without another word, thankfully. I was tired of hearing her voice. Good luck with your newfound freedom, Esme.

Bitch.

I watched her run off and contemplated my next move. Bella lost her memory. She is married and living in Texas. Charlie Swan is moving to Texas. He will need to drive a moving truck. Should be easy enough to follow, though perhaps incredibly slow and boring. I suppose I could get some new novels on CD.

How to approach her? I still didn't know if she was in Forks. She could very well be. I needed to get to Charlie's house. I heard the car pulling into my driveway. I looked out the window.

She came to me. She was with a young man who was…damn. Not Edward by a long shot. This was no 17 year old boy. My heart caught in my throat. I truly never thought I would see her again. She found me.

I could hear every word spoken between the two of them. It wasn't hard to see they were devoted to each other. It was the natural way their hands sought each other after they were out of the car. He should have opened the door for her but I suppose that is a bit old fashioned. These things can be taught.

"Does it seem weird that a car is parked here out of the garage?" she asked.

"Mercedes no less. Think it could be a real estate person?"

"In Forks? Driving this? Doubtful. But someone is here." Bella peered at the house and I backed away from the window. I didn't know how to handle this. I wanted to grab her and run. But she is married now. I want to be a part of her life. But I don't know what she remembers about us. From what I have heard she remembers nothing.

"Maybe we should just knock instead of trying to break in?" Bella asked.

"I was really looking forward to breaking in." the man said. He sounded disappointed. Poor boy.

"Have you broken into a lot of mansions?" Bella asked.

"No. Never. That's why I was looking forward to this."

"C'mon. Let's go knock on the door. If no one answers I will let you break in honey."

Bella speaks much slower. I wonder if she has brain damage as well as amnesia. Of course she sounds like her husband. I wonder if he has brain damage? No. What would be the odds of them both having brain damage? Think Esme. How to handle this. Real Estate lady? Why are they even here? I could leave out the back door.

I heard the knock on the door.

It would be rude not to answer. I should at least see her. I really, really wanted to see her. Fall at her feet and beg forgiveness for following Edward and Carlisle. I suppose I could start with answering the door.

I opened the door and saw her up close for the first time in over a year. She was gorgeous. Only 19 but she had lost a lot of the softness she had before. She looked more refined. The angles and curves of her body were more pronounced. She didn't look at me as if she was afraid to make eye contact. She was much more confident. Her smile was still there though. That half smile, half grin that lights up her face. It took everything in me to not grab her and hold her.

They both looked surprised. I don't know why. They knew someone was probably here. Damn. Her husband looked hotter up close.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am. My name is Mary Walker and this is my husband Bo. We were wondering…"

Her husband spoke before she could finish.

"I'm guessin by the gold eyes and the fact that I haven't seen you in a photo yet, that you must be Mrs. Cullen." He said, smiling at me.

Eyes. I guess I will be going for honesty here.

"Yes. My name is Esme Cullen. I…" couldn't take it any longer. I grabbed her. I was sobbing.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I am so sorry." I was sobbing. But I had her back in my arms.

Bo POV

Okay. Not the reception I was expecting. Mary was trying to pull back but having little success. Woman must have an iron grip.

"Ma'am? Could you let my wife step back for a second and get a breath?"

"Of course. I'm sorry Bella." Mary stepped back, almost into me.

"Esme Cullen?" Mary whispered.

"Yes. You go by Mary? Where did you come up with that name dear?"

"Uh, Marianne Dashwood from Sen…"

"Of course. You love Jane Austen." Okay. Obviously she knew Mary pretty well.

"Mrs. Cullen…" Mary began.

"You have never called me that. You call me Esme and I will call you whatever you want. Please come in."

She stepped aside. I wasn't sure about his. We really didn't know much about this family. But I could tell one thing. Something was not right. Mary felt it too. She was squeezing my hand tighter than normal.

This chick was way too cheery. Like Whitlock and the other Cullens we saw, she was very pale. Same gold eyes. Beautiful. Almost too beautiful.

"Esme." The woman began sobbing again. Not crying. Just sobbing.

"Yes?"

"Have you heard what happened to me?" Mary asked.

"Yes. I heard you were kidnapped and…and…"

"She wasn't raped ma'am. She fought him off and he hit her over the head, causing her to lose her memory. There was no rape." I figure I may as well get that out there before she really starts her non crying.

"Oh thank God." She grabbed Mary again and pulled her into her arms. This time Mary gasped and I went on high alert.

"Esme…you are cold. Are you okay?"

"Yes dear. I'm just, cold natured, I guess you could say. Believe it or not you once said it was soothing."

"Oh of course. I didn't mean that it…"

"Don't ever apologize to me…Mary. I will be apologizing to you for the rest of your life, I suppose."

"Why?" Now I was definitely on high alert.

"Chill Bo. Esme, I need answers. No one wants to tell me about my past here. There are too many holes. No one wants to tell me about Edward and my relationship with all of you. Now I have Emmett and Rosalie McCarty or whatever the hell they are calling themselves stalking me in Texas. Edward isn't here is he?" Mary suddenly looked nervous.

"No. I left Edward and Carlisle. They are in London. They think you are dead. I called Carlisle from Forks and told him I wouldn't be coming back once I found you were alive. It is important that I stay away. He and Edward cannot know you are alive. Now what was this about Rose and Emmett? What do you mean they are stalking you? How do you know what they even look like?"

"We found pictures under a floorboard in Mary's old room." I helpfully supplied.

"Edward. He left them there. That stupid boy. You say you have seen Rose and Emmett?"

"Yes. A couple nights before we came here. At a bar. With some other friends."

"I see. What would you…it is going to be difficult to give you the answers you need. There are some strange aspects you are going to have to learn again. You may not react as well as you did last time. Your husband may not react well. I will tell you everything you want to know Bella. I mean Mary. Excuse me. But you need to realize this knowledge did nothing but bring you pain before. I only ask that the two of you think hard about whether you want the whole truth. I owe it to you. I will give it to you. I won't make decisions for you. But I need you to really…"

"We want to know." I said. I looked at Mary and she nodded. It was time to put an end to this.

She looked in my eyes. "We already have figured out too many things that we can't just sit around and pretend we didn't learn them. I need to know that Edward Cullen isn't going to find her. I need to know why it is important that your husband and Edward think she is dead. Two Cullens and two others who are a whole lot like them only with red eyes have found us already. Ma'am, we need to know what we are up against here."

"I understand. But once I tell you…" her phone went off. She looked down at the caller ID.

"Excuse me. It is probably important that I take this. I need answers too."

She placed her phone to her ear. "Hello Rose."

I wish I could hear the other end of this conversation. Freaky timing.

"Oh. Peter. What a surprise."

I looked at Mary and she nodded. Peter Whitlock.

"Yes Peter. I understand what you are saying…no I can definitely see your side of things. I suppose you convinced Rose and Emmett to keep this from me as well?"

She nodded a little more.

"Yes. Yes. Oh you will do what if I don't do as you say? Oh I see. I completely understand where you are coming from and I deeply value your opinion. Can I make a request?"

I assumed he said yes from her smile.

"Would you and Charlotte and Rose and Emmett all go fuck yourselves? Have a nice day Peter."

Esme ended the call and turned to us, still smiling.

"So you want to know the truth do you?"

"Yes Esme." Mary replied with wide eyes. I was kind of impressed myself.

"You two have to keep this to yourselves. Charlie already knows. Your friends from La Push already know. I really don't think it is fair that you don't know. They think they are doing what is best for you. But you have always known what is best for you, until it came to Edward. You were always too good for him. I will explain why it is important that Edward and Carlisle think you are dead. I will explain to you why I can't go back without placing you in danger. Why it is important for you not to have much time involved with those like me. Why it is bad for you. Why you reacted the way you did when we left. But first there is something I need to show you."

Okay…

"What is that, Esme?" Mary asked quietly.

She looked out the window.

"It appears the clouds are going to break and we may actually have twenty minutes of sunshine. Come outside with me. This will be easier to believe if I show you."

She began walking out the door. Two steps from the front she turned.

"Do you want to know?"

I looked down at Mary and saw determination in her face. I nodded at her and grabbed her hand. Whatever it is, we would face it together.

"Yes ma'am. Right behind you."


	18. Chapter 18

Don't own it

A/N- I realize some reviewers didn't want Bella to ever find out about her past. I agree. If it was up to me then she wouldn't find out. But wait…isn't it up to you Jason? Aren't you the writer? Yes and no. When I start a story I sit down every day in front of a computer and have no idea what is going to come out. Seriously. I have never started a story knowing how it was going to end. But most importantly you have to think about this. Wouldn't it kind of be a boring story if she didn't find out?

Chapter 18

BPOV

Holy shit.

"Could you do that thing where you run up to the top of a tree and jump over the river and then jump back in like two seconds again? Cause that shit was cool as hell." Bo asked.

"What are you?" I whispered.

"I'm a vampire dear. Not a vampire like you have grown up learning about. The ones that only come out at night and turn into bats. We obviously can come out in the day. Direct sunlight makes us sparkle, as you saw."

"You drink blood? Edward drank blood?" What the hell was I doing around him?

"Yes. My eyes are gold are because I drink animal blood. Our whole family did."

"Did?" Bo asked. Yep he just grabbed me again.

"Yes. The members still do so as far as I know. But there is no family anymore." She was serious. This was…

"Why did you, your family, tell me what you were?"

"You figured it out on your own, Mary."

"Okay…"

"You would have figured it out this time as well. You were on the right track. Eyes, cold skin. Knowing Peter Whitlock and already seeing Rose and Emmett. It was only a matter of time."

"So you decided to go ahead and tell us?" Bo asked.

"You deserve to know Mary. You would be a vampire now if Edward wasn't such an idiot."

I shivered a little at that. I don't know what the entire truth is yet but I knew I did not want to be a …vampire.

"Edward planned to turn me into one of…you?" Yep. Bo just moved me slightly behind him. I guess it's instinct. I doubt either of us could do much to her after what we just saw.

"No he didn't. But he should have. Edward refusing to turn you is the reason you ran in the middle of the night. Of course considering how things worked out, it may be fate that you weren't turned. This is good. But it is important that we don't let Edward or Carlisle know you are alive."

"Why? Would he try to hurt me?"

"No. I don't think so. He may try to turn you into a vampire if he found you."

She must have read the look on my face.

"I won't let him, Bel…Mary. Relax. You have quite a little army interested in you remaining human. No, Edward isn't the danger."

I was confused.

"Look, I think it is best to hear everything in the order it happened. No lies. No half-truths. I know everything. You may not be happy with me when this is done but I hope you won't hate me. I love you very much."

I simply nodded my head. Bo grabbed my hand and we walked inside. We sat on the sofa.

She spoke.

Neither of us said a word for two hours. Finally she stopped.

"Where is your bathroom?"

"Second door down the hall, Mary."

I ran. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Thankfully I did. I vomited. This was the first time this had happened when I wasn't hung over. Oh my God, I was fucking stupid. Bo was pulling my hair back from my face.

I finally stood up on shaky legs. He watched me as I washed my face and gurgled water. Damn that was nasty.

We finally walked back in to see her sitting where we left her.

"I was going to help you but I realized that is his job now."

"We help each other." Bo commented. I wonder what he is thinking right now. I wish I could read minds. No. No, I don't. I can't think of a worse thing than to read minds and not be able to stop or constantly seeing the future or feeling someone's emotions.

"So what now? I will have these Volturi people after me?"

"No. They think you are dead. If they find Edward and Carlisle they will see our family broke up over your death. You are safe. As long as you continue to use your new identity and Carlisle and Edward don't find you, we will be fine."

"What if they do?" Bo asked.

"They won't."

"Rose and Emmett did." I pointed out.

"That was luck. Peter has them under control."

"What if Alice gets a vision of you meeting me? Can't she do that?" I asked.

"Possible. We will have to determine if the Volturi are after the two of them. If they are being chased they must be destroyed." She looked a little sad but not as sad as I expected.

"That wouldn't bother you? Killing them over me?"

"I love you like my own daughter Bella. I love them as well. But you have something to live for. We are already dead. You can have a real life. The two of you can make life. Carry on life. We cannot. So yes. I would destroy them. I am sure your wolves would help too. I know Peter and Charlotte will help. They have friends as well. If it is necessary we will destroy every damn Italian vampire in creation to keep your family safe."

Wolves. That was crazy but it made a lot of sense.

"Why would Peter Whitlock help us? Why has he helped us? Why has he been watching over us?" Bo asked.

"All he told me was that it was of upmost importance that you remain human and happy. He didn't want me to tell you the truth. He thinks you are children. You are not old but you are not children."

"Thank you for telling me." I said quietly. This freaked me the hell out. But the idea of not knowing was scary as hell.

"I hope you can forgive me for leaving, Mary. I never should have followed…"

"It's fine. I mean if you hadn't, I never would have found Bo. Maybe…"

"Maybe it happened the way it was supposed to." He finished for me. He was holding my hand. I guess he wasn't too pissed off that he married the monster magnet. I looked over and smiled.

"If it meant I get my husband I would go through it all again." I told her.

"Yes. I can see that. To be honest if I didn't think you were happy, I had thought about taking you with me and turning you myself. But I can see that you are. You have a chance at life. You have powerful friends interested in keeping you living and happy. I don't know if it is better or worse that you have this knowledge. But you needed to know."

"Thank you Esme. We did need to know and we can handle it." Bo told her.

"I don't imagine there is much the two of you cannot handle. I will be around Texas. Peter and his wife and Rose and Emmett are also around. From what you have told me, Charlie has two wolves moving with him to Texas as well. Try to relax. I won't be in your life as much as I would like. I told you I believe that prolonged exposure to vampires can draw someone in an unhealthy manner. I don't want that to happen again. You became a different person the longer you were around Edward. You became what he wanted you to be. I doubt you ever had a chance. I believe it has to do with prolonged exposure to our kind. You used to tell me he dazzled you at times and his scent smelt so good you nearly passed out a few times. You were more right than you knew. I was too excited about having you as a daughter to notice. Maybe I noticed and let it go by. I don't know. But I will be in contact if that is okay. I would like to at least contact you by phone often."

"Yeah…I mean sure, why not?" Like I could stop her? Still though, I believed her. If we really did have vampires protecting us without our direct knowledge, we could put this behind us and move on. That would be nice.

"Mrs. Cullen I appreciate you telling us this. It is a lot to take in but you are the first person who has been completely honest with us since we met Mary's family."

"Now Bo, you must call me Esme if we are to be friends."

"Well then Esme, I also appreciate your interest in keeping vampires out of our lives."

"Of course Bo."

"We should go. Charlie will be wondering where we are." I whispered. How could I process this information? Was it really my fault? Or was I drawn in like Esme seems to think? Wolves? Fucking wolves? I went to Italy? I left my house and willingly went to Italy to save a guy who dumped me in a really horrible way and left me to die in the forest. What the fuck? I was ready to turn into a vampire and basically kill myself when I got back?

"Here is my number Bella. I mean Mary. That will take some getting used to. I was wondering if I could have your address so I don't have to follow your family to Texas behind moving trucks."

"Of course." I wrote our address without really thinking about it. Was she drawing me in now? No. I really just wanted to leave. Besides it's not like every other damn vampire and wolf didn't know where we lived already. It was a matter of time before the leprechauns and ogres turned up. Maybe a few trolls. I wanted to crawl under a blanket with my husband and forget this happened. But I couldn't. Neither of us could.

We walked slowly to the car, neither of us saying a word. Bo drove us towards Forks in silence. I was afraid to say anything, worried he may want a divorce from the monster magnet. Finally he spoke.

"So that was some crazy shit, huh?"

"Crazy shit? That's your reaction?"

"What do you want me to say? I just found out vampires exist and my wife used to hang out with vampires and werewolves. I saw a sparkly Stepford wife move like Superman and pull tree roots out of the ground. Like I said. Crazy stuff."

"Do you…are you mad at me?"

"Why the hell would I be mad at you?" He looked at me. He didn't appear angry.

"Because you married me and now you find out that I may be the target of mythical monsters that could possibly endanger our family?"

"So?"

"So!"

"Yeah. I meant every vow I said to you. You are my life. Don't every doubt my love or commitment to you. Never. We face everything together. Good and bad. Me and you. This world and the next. Don't ever forget it."

I took a deep breath and instantly felt better. He tapped my shoulder.

"Hey Walker?"

"Yeah?"

"We ride together, we die together right? Bad boys to the end?"

"I'm not fist bumping you, Bo. And don't start singing that song."

"Give me a fist bump or I am singing the song."

"No…"

"Bad boys, bad boys, what ya gonna do? What…"

"Fine!" I fist bumped him. He watches that fucking movie way too much.

We rode in silence for a while longer…damn it!

"Damn it Bo! That song is stuck in my head now!"

He seemed to find this amusing.

"It's not funny you jackass! Turn on the radio!"

"In a little bit. What are we going to tell Charlie and your friends?"

"What? I am going to tell them to kiss my ass, keeping something like that from me!"

"I disagree. I think we should keep it to ourselves."

"Why?"

"If they knew Esme Cullen was there they would have tried their hardest to keep us away. They don't know. We can fuck with them."

My husband will never be confused with Bill Gates or Stephen Hawking but he has his moments.

"What do you suggest darlin?" I asked him, loving how his mind works.

"If they ask where we were, tell them we were out exploring. Ran into some of your old friends. We don't ask them anything else about what is going on with your past."

"How is that fucking with them? Isn't that what they want?"

"I never said we would make it easy on them. Now that we know we can catch them with a lot more crap. Like walking out of the woods half naked." He winked.

It was a good plan right up until we pulled in front of Charlie's house. Jacob Black was there with his fellow canines loading furniture into the moving van. As soon as we got out, he began sniffing the air.

Motherfucker! He could smell Esme on me. I looked at Bo who was watching Jake sniff the air. Jake slowly had a look of anger cloud his face. Bo glanced back at me and nodded. I would follow his lead.

Jake grabbed Charlie and walked him inside.

"Did you see that?"

"Sensitive noses, I guess." Bo whispered. I realized all the help was inside with Charlie now. I guess I should say Pack. I didn't trust vampires. I didn't trust wolves either. Esme said they protected me. That may be but they also lied to me. I can't trust liars.

Charlie came out finally, slamming the door and heading straight for us. He looked pissed. Good. So was I.

"Where the fuck have you been, Bella?" He yelled at me. Bad mistake. This happened once before when a guy yelled at me in a dance hall because I accidentally bumped into him and made him spill his beer. Bo didn't react well then. He wasn't reacting well now.

He grabbed Charlie by the shoulders and threw him against the moving truck. Hard.

"Dad or no dad. Cop or no cop. You ever raise your voice at my wife again and I will fucking end you."

"Get your hands off of him!" Jake said from the porch. He was heading towards Bo. Fuck that. I ran up to Bo and grabbed the gun he kept under his shirt in the back of his jeans. Flicked the safety off and pointed the damn thing straight at Black.

"Back the fuck off, Jake."

"You're pulling a gun on me Bella!? What the hell?"

"Under normal circumstances my man would wipe the floor with your sorry ass. But these ain't exactly normal are they? You're a tough guy trying to fight a normal human, being a werewolf. Now back off and let Bo and Dad sort this out."

He hesitated.

"I know what you are thinking Jake. We used to be best friends, blah blah blah. You take a step towards my man and I will shoot you in the fucking eye. I'll go ahead and let you know in case you were wondering. I am damn good shot."

That made his ass pause.

"Bo? I'm sorry. I got a little excited. Will you please put me down? I won't yell at her anymore. I promise. Bella? Please put the gun down." Charlie said with his hands raised against the back of the truck. Bo still looked pissed. His muscles were flexed and shaking a bit. The way they did when he hit the last guy who yelled at me.

"You send your attack dogs back in the house and I will put my gun down, Dad."

"Jake! Go inside now."

"Charlie…"

"Jake! Now!"

Jake walked slowly inside. The others followed him, looking at me and then Bo the entire time.

"Bo, baby. Put Daddy down. I don't think he will yell anymore."

Bo took his hands off of Charlie and backed up but he was still tense.

Bo gently took the gun from my hand, flicked the safety on and placed it back in his back holster.

"Now how bout we start this conversation in a more civilized manner, Mr. Swan?" Bo said, glaring at Charlie.

"I'm sorry…I just didn't want you to know Bella."

"We needed to know Charlie! We have seen four vampires already. Five after the nice chat we had with Mrs. Cullen who seems to be the only one who thinks we need to know about what the hell is going on around us. Right now she is the only one we trust." Bo said, staring a hole in Charlie's forehead.

"Bo, the men in that house and Leah damn near gave their lives to protect Bella."

"Yeah they did. And the Cullens were in that fight too, weren't they Dad?" I asked. Long as we are getting it all out.

"Yes." He didn't want to admit it.

I turned towards the house so they would know I was speaking to them as well.

"I imagine you can all hear me. It's not that I don't appreciate everything you did for me. But I don't trust people who think they can decide what I do and don't need to know, especially when it concerns my safety and the safety of my family and friends. If that is what you all think you may as well get out here and start unloading Charlie's furniture right now. Maybe I was like that before. But I ain't that girl anymore."

Bo addressed Charlie again.

"So what's it going to be Charlie? You gonna cut the bullshit or you stayin here, Chief? It would make Renee real happy. Wouldn't hurt my feelins at the moment either." Bo was still tense. He was like a tiger ready to strike. Damn it was fucking hot. Concentrate Mary!

"Look. I'm sorry. I should have told you. You are right. It was my fault. I made the decision. Don't hold it against them okay? They love you too."

I looked at the porch. They had all come out again.

"Jacob Black?"

"Yes Bella."

"Call me Mary. It's who I am now. Any of you people, especially you Jake, make a move towards my husband again, I will fill you full of more bullets than you could possibly heal from. Understand?"

"Yes. We got it." Sam said. Jake stood silently. He didn't look happy. Welcome to the damn club.

I turned to Charlie.

"No more lies or you stay here." I told him, looking in his eyes.

"No more lies B…Mary."

"Okay."

He stepped forward and hugged me. I let him.

Charlie went to offer his hand to Bo.

"Not the best time Charlie. Maybe later."

"I am sorry Bo. I didn't…my temper gets the better of me sometimes."

"I understand about that Charlie. But temper is reserved for men like us. It ain't directed at women and it sure as fuck isn't directed at my wife."

"I understand. It won't happen again. Believe me." Charlie put his hand out again and Bo took it. I saw Charlie wince a little bit. Bo has a pretty strong grip.

"Look, could you all take a break. Bo and I need to go upstairs and calm down a little bit."

"Sure. How about the gang and I there go get some food and we can bring you two back something?"

"That would be fine Dad."

I watched them leave and Bo grabbed my hand pulling me inside up the stairs and into my room.

I locked the door behind us. Thank God the bed hadn't been packed yet.

I turned around and saw he was still tense. Only it wasn't anger anymore.

"So that kind of escalated quickly." He said, slowly smiling.

"Yeah. You threw my Dad against the side of a moving van for yelling at me." I said quietly.

"You pulled a gun on Jacob Black when he tried to come at me."

"Yep."

"That was fucking hot. Would you have really shot him?"

"Yep. Not in the eye. I was thinking kneecap. Maybe thigh."

"You are such a bad girl. You know what is going to happen now?" he asked me, backing me up to the bed.

"Tell me." I said, damn near losing my breath.

"I'm going to pull your blue jeans down. I'm going to put you face first into the pillow on the bed. I'm going to rip our panties off…"

"I like these panties."

"I'll buy you more. You feel like taking the time to undress?"

"No." I whimpered. I can't help it. When he gets like this it makes me so wet.

"You want me now?"

"Yes." He turned me around and picked me up. He lay me on the mattress and I turned my face on my pillow. He raised my hips up so I was lying with my knees under me. I felt my jeans pulled down. I felt a pull and the tear of fabric. The air hitting my bare ass. I was so hot.

"AHHH." Lord he just went inside me. He still had his shirt on. I could feel it tickling my lower back. I close my eyes and listened to the slapping sound of Bo going in and out so fast. Then I felt his finger on my

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"You know how damn hot you are baby?"

"Shut up and fuck me. Don't talk. Just keep doing what you are doing."

His hand reached under my shirt and pulled my bra to the side. There were his fingers. On my nipples. Oh don't pinch. If you pinch I'm going to.

"Oh!...Ohhhhhh!..."

Oh my God he pinched my nipples. He was fucking me harder. His finger wouldn't let go of my nipple. Oh shit his other hand is back on my pussy. Oh shit he is rubbing my clit again…

I lost track of time. We heard movement downstairs. I didn't give a damn. We weren't stopping now until he had his fill.

He came and kept going. He was rubbing my ass now. Is he gonna…yep he just slapped my ass. I was moaning. I bit the pillow to try to be quiet. It wasn't working. My hair was soaked in sweat. My body was shivering and hot. He finally came again and collapsed on top of me. I straightened out and he lay out on top of me, still inside me. My clothes were soaked.

"I can't go downstairs." I whispered.

"Why not?" he asked, mouth in my hair.

"I am sure I look like I just got fucked with my clothes on. How long were we going at it?"

"Only an hour. Your Dad and his dogs came in about ten minutes ago."

"You think they heard me?"

"I think Stephanie heard you in Texas."

Great. Fuck it.

"Okay. Get off me, cowboy. We need a shower and I got to change clothes."

"You go ahead baby. If these guys have as sensitive nose as I seems like they do, I think I am going to stay just like this for a while."

"Why?" I asked.

"Cause fuck them, that's why."

Paul POV

"So that was interesting. Think we can take her furniture from the bedroom to the resale store now?"

"We should probably give them a while." Charlie said quietly.

I looked at Black. At least I was in a better situation than he was. I had my imprint to go home to. True love. True love designed to make bigger, better wolves.

Meanwhile the only girl I ever truly loved just got pounded by her husband up those stairs.

Bo walked down. Jacob's nostrils flared. That scent. I had a feeling those two wouldn't be friends.

"Thanks for giving us time to calm down everybody. So Charlie, what did you bring us to eat?"

"Uh, cheeseburgers and fries." Charlie mumbled not looking at him. I probably wouldn't look at the guy drilling my daughter either.

"Outstanding. Mary will be down in a bit. She needed a shower."

"Yeah. We heard." I commented. He walked over to me while Charlie walked out. I guess to pack some more crap.

"Oh yeah. You guys must have super wolf hearing to go along with super wolf smell huh?"

"I don't think we needed super hearing. I'm pretty sure the whole damn neighborhood heard."

"So you two will be back for the wedding right?" Sam asked.

"Of course. Mary is the maid of honor."

"It won't be…Jake is going to be my best man. That won't be an issue will it?" Sam asked quietly.

"Of course not Sam. The boy should get to know what to feels like to walk her down an aisle once. He did help save her."

The thing about Bo is you never know if he is being serious or sarcastic. I could appreciate that about him, even if I did want to rip him to shreds and run off with his wife.

Bella walked down the stairs. She was beautiful. She glowed. Of course her eyes went straight to him. She ran up to him from behind and jumped on his back wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

"Piggy back ride!" she yelled.

"Where are we headin, cowgirl?" Bo laughed.

"Take me to the saloon. I need to get fed and get drunk!" she laughed. Bo made a sound I think was supposed to imitate a horse and ran to the kitchen.

I looked at Sam, who was barely holding in a grin.

"I think the vampires were a better influence on her." He said quietly.

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't disagree. At least she spoke English when she was around them. It was alright. I had Rachel and Bella had…that. As long as she was happy with…that, I would be happy.

A/N

Alright Sabrina. There is your Texas size Shit storm!"


	19. Chapter 19

Don't own it

Chapter 19

Bo POV

Damn it was good to be back in Texas. We wouldn't have to go back to Forks till June. Then we would only be there a few days. After that Sam could bring Emily here to visit. That was it. I think Mary and I had both had enough of that place and those people. Leah and Seth weren't so bad. Leah was a bit quiet. The farther away from Washington we got the more relaxed she seemed. Seth was funny if quiet. He seemed like the kind of kid who would fit in anywhere.

We had just got finished moving Charlie's house in. Tomorrow, I would be helping Phil move in. Charlie offered to help and Renee turned him down. Charlie and I had not spoken much but he hadn't raised his voice at my wife once. I suppose we would get over our little altercation but I wasn't in the mood right now.

Tonight Mary and I would be working on furniture. She would be sanding. I would be building. Mostly working on the giant bed order and a couple tables made out of thick tree trunks. I loved doing these because each one always came out different. Almost like it had a life of its own and decided what it would be before I even touched it.

Mary got a bit dusty and sweaty helping Charlie move in. She was taking a shower. I told her not to since we would be working in less than an hour.

She insisted she needed a shower. I knew what I had to do. It had been too long.

I snuck in with the pitcher of ice water.

"Bo? Is that you?"

I let her see the pitcher tipping over the curtain.

"Bo, don't you do it. I'm serious Bo! Don't…motherfucker!"

She screamed.

"You asshole! I am so getting you back for that! Damn it Bo! That shit isn't funny!"

Nothing like a pitcher of ice cold water poured on someone in a hot shower to wake up the senses. Ah shit. She threw the curtain open. She was coming out.

She looked pissed off. And wet. And naked. Pissed off, wet and naked. I wasn't sure if I should be turned on or scared.

"Hand me my towel, Bo."

I handed it to her gently, making sure not to get too close.

She wrapped it around herself and walked to the bed room. She was still dripping.

"Mary, don't you need a towel for your hair?"

"Nope. I'm good." She walked to our bed. She dropped the towel and lay down. On my side of the bed.

"No!"

"Yep."

"Move over." Her wet hair was soaking my pillow. My special pillow. The really beat up squishy one that I can't sleep without.

"No. I need to air dry."

"Your hair is soaking my pillow!"

"Yep. You ever do that again and I am throwing your special fucking pillow in the shower." She said, using the remote to turn on the TV.

"It was just a joke. You are destroying property. My side of the bed is wet." This seemed like an extreme response.

"Deal with it."

"Fine. Be that way. I'm going to be outside working. I'm sleeping on your side of the bed tonight."

"Good. You can sleep there with your special soaking wet pillow. I'll sleep in the extra bedroom."

"Could you put it in the dryer? Please?"

"No. You know where the dryer is. Put it in yourself."

"I can't do that Mary. If I don't do the right setting it could destroy my pillow."

"Guess you are going to have to wait for it to dry on its own." She just rubbed her head deeper in my pillow. Bitch!

I stormed out of the house pouting. It was only a pitcher of ice water. She didn't have to destroy my pillow. I've had that pillow since I was 9 years old. I wouldn't be able to sleep worth a shit tonight.

I worked for a couple hours. I heard Hunter come home from school. Must mean Steph was home too. I should probably take a break and see how their day went. I haven't seen them all that much since we been back. I walked out and saw Hunter outside the door. With the water hose in his hands.

"Sorry Uncle Bo. She paid me $20."

"Hunter…" Before I could offer to pay him more he opened it up. I just stood there. Wasn't much I could do now. After a minute he still hadn't stopped.

"Hunter could you please stop? I'm soaked already." I spit out through the water showering my face.

"Sorry Uncle Bo. Aunt Mary said I had to keep doing this until you got smart enough to move."

That bitch. If she thinks this is over…

"She also said she is more sadistic than you and you should think about that before trying to get back at her. What does sadistic mean, Uncle Bo?"

"It's an adjective used to describe a wife."

I walked inside. Mary was waiting at the door with a smile and towel.

"Take off your boots. I don't want you to track water in the house."

I glared at her. Without a word I slipped my boots off. I need a shower. The saw dust on me had turned to a grimy film of saw mud.

I was smart enough to lock the bathroom door.

Shit. I didn't bring clothes in. I could probably holler at Mary to bring me jeans when I was done.

I put my face in the spray and closed my eyes. That felt so good…

I screamed like a little bitch. Holy shit that was cold. The suddenness of the cold water hitting my face and the chunks of ice hitting my head caught me by surprise. I finally caught my breath.

"Hey Bo?"

"Yeah Mary?"

"Guess what?"

"You learned to pick locks of the internet?"

"Yep. Pretty cool huh?"

" I love you Mary. I'm sorry I poured cold water on you in the shower. It won't happen again."

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

She pulled back the curtain and I saw she was naked.

"Good. You can help me finish the shower you interrupted earlier. By the way, your pillow and the sheets are in the dryer."

"I love you." I told her as she stepped in.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"Good. You can learn. I am very proud of you. You get steak tonight for dinner."

"Baked potatoes or mashed?"

"Baked of course."

"Real bacon bits and not those hard ones that come in a can?"

"Real bacon, darlin."

"Yes!"

"You are a fucking dork you know that right?' She asked, smiling.

I guess I was. I was a dork with a naked wife in the shower with me though.

BPOV  
If that fucking dork ever does that again I will make him suffer. I think he learned his lesson. After the shower I hit the belt sander. He was working with a shirt on. I l cleared my throat when he stopped sawing.

"What?'"

I nodded towards his shirt.

"It's like 60 degrees in here, Mary."

"Take the shirt off Bo."

"Is that all I am to you? Some man meat for you to lust over while I am hard at work?'

"Take your fucking shirt off, Bo."

"You take yours off."

"No. Hunter might walk in. After the incident with Renee I don't believe I will be taking off any of my clothes in this shed again."

"I could put a lock on the door." He said.

"Fine. Do it later. Right now shirt off."

Ahh there he is. Wow. His nipples are hard. It is a bit chilly. Oh well. He'll work up a sweat.

We were making good progress, but it was getting to the point where we would have to stop. At least I would. The sun was going down. I needed to get dinner started before Stephanie tried to take Hunter out for fast food. I'm sure the kid was living off it while I was in Forks.

I opened up the shed and stood still. Ah crap.

I backed up a little.

"Bo?"

"Yeah Mar…" Bo stopped talking. I guess he saw him.

"Hello Bo. Mary."

Bo walked up behind me. He grabbed my waist and I moved to his side. He pushed me slightly behind. He does this whenever he senses danger. And right now we were both sensing danger. Bo seemed relaxed though.

"I was wondering when we would see you Peter. I didn't figure it would take too long." Bo said calmly.

"Yeah. We need to talk."

"I believe Mary and I would both agree with you on that."

PPOV

Fucking Esme Cullen.

"So I guess after your conversation with Esme Cullen you two know everything?"

"Yep." Bo replied. Mary looked nervous. But she wasn't backing down. "Except why you have been helping us out."

"I'm your uncle. A few generations down of course. I was turned during the civil war. I had a brother. His name was Benjamin."

"Benjamin Walker? You were brothers with that Benjamin Walker?" He asked.

"Yep."

"You're the Uncle Peter who disappeared and was thought dead during the war?"

"Yep. My original name is Peter Walker."

"Wow. Cool." He seemed to take this in stride. Mary was looking at me with suspicion but she didn't look afraid. These two were born for each other.

"So why did you help us? With Mary's ID and from what I understand, keeping vampires away from us."

"I have been watching over your family since I was turned and Ben started having kids. I never met any of you personally. But I knew who you were. Imagine my surprise when you show up at my place with the girl who survived the vampire attack. The Harry Potter of the vampire world."

"You knew who I was?" Mary asked.

"Yep."

"Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Would it have changed anything? You two were meant to be. The Cullens fucked you over and thought you dead. It was better to stay that way. I thought I could keep vampires out of your life without your knowledge and you guys wouldn't have to worry about it. Course because you two are nosy as shit and tenacious, that plan got shot to hell. It also didn't help that your Dad and his dogs are terrible liars and Esme Cullen showed up in Forks when she did. At least she has the sense to stay away from Carlisle an Edward Cullen."

"I had a right to know. About my past. Who I was, what was out there that I needed to be ready for."

"How the fuck are you gonna get ready for a vampire, little girl? One kicked your scrawny ass already. You gonna stock up on some more pepper spray? See if that shit works any better this time. Course you don't remember that do you? Be glad. You were fucked up good."

"You still should have told us." Bo said. Big surprise. Boy is pussy whipped. He may not think he is but we recognize our own.

"My knowledge, my decision. You don't like it, I don't give a damn. If you are expecting me to act like Esme Cullen, you should know I don't hug. Now, you two have to stay low. Stay away from vampires. All of us."

"Why should I stay away from Esme? She is the only one who was honest with me." Mary said.

"Did she tell you her first plan was to run off with you and turn you into a vampire so she could mother you for eternity?'

"Yeah. Not the mothering part but she said if she thought I wasn't happy she would have turned me."

"Oh." Wasn't expecting that. Bitch really is honest.

"Yeah. She is honest with Bo and I. So seriously, you can take your glare and your red eyes and your tough talk and shove them up your ass if you think you are going to dictate our lives."

Damn. What is with these fucking people now? Don't I intimidate anybody anymore? Miss 5'4" 100 pounds soaking wet just told me to shove something up my ass. Esme Cullen told me to fuck myself.

I took a deep breath. They were still cautious. But they weren't scared. Either of them.

"Fine. Do what the fuck you want to do. Talk to who you want to talk to. But if you care about your friends and family you will stay low. Cause every vampire that sees you, the risk of the Volturi finding out about you increases. If they come we have a fight on our hands. I can't guarantee innocents won't get hurt. Understand? This ain't just about the two of you."

It was Mary who spoke first.

"We understand Peter. It's not that we don't appreciate what you have done. But we aren't going into some sort of witness protection program. The vampires who know us already know us. No point in hiding. That's all we are saying."

Bo was nodding his head. Big surprise. He reminded me so much of Benjamin.

I guess this was the best I was going to get.

"Fine. I won't be seeing ya'll but I will be near, watching your backs. Here is my number. Call me immediately if you see any more vampires you haven't already seen." I handed them the card with my cell number.

I took off before they could tell me to fuck off or shove anything else up my ass. I honestly don't know if I could take anymore. I need to go find my wife and fuck her. Maybe pick on Rose and Emmett. They were at least intimidated by me. I hope.

I heard Mary tell Bo that she didn't feel as bad about being a vampire magnet considering he was related to one. Weird couple.

Bella POV

We were going to Church. He was really serious. I thought he might forget.

"Are you sure this dress is okay?"

"You look beautiful baby."

'It isn't too tight? I don't want these women thinking I'm a slut."

"Half of them are going to think you are nice and half are going to think you are a slut the minute you walk in no matter what you say or wear."

What the fuck?

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's just the way women are I suppose. If it makes you feel better, every guy from 12 to 90 is gonna be wondering what you look like without that dress on."

"Yeah. That makes me feel better." I whispered.

We pulled up to a large building. It wasn't a castle type building I was expecting. It looked pretty modern. Had what looked to be a huge building behind it.

"What's the building back there?"

'Multi gym. Four basketball courts and Bible study rooms."

"Wow." Impressive.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"Isn't this kind of big for a small town church?"

'Not really. A lot of people from the surrounding area plus Tyler come here."

"Aren't there churches in Tyler?" I asked.

"Yeah. But some people like a smaller Church." Bo explained.

"This is small?"

"Compared to some of them in Tyler? Yep."

Alright then.

I followed him squeezing his hand and not paying attention. Apparently the head guy, pasture? Pastor? Yeah Pastor, was waiting for us at the door. Is that his wife with him? Yep. Big hair, fake smile. Definitely wife. Bo shook hands with him while he went on about how good it was to see Bo, back in the Church. The woman touched me. I managed not to jump back. Did she bathe in that perfume? Seriously?

I managed a smile.

"And you must be the new Mrs. Walker. It is so good to meet you."

"Thanks." Awkward silence. The pastor guy just pulled Bo away to talk about some men's group or something. He left me. That ass…shouldn't probably even think curse words here. From what I have learned lately I needed all the help I could get.

"So you are Mary." I nodded my head. Thanks for reminding me and all.

"That is so great. My name is Mary Sue."

"Nice to meet you Mary.'

"No sweetie. Mary Sue."

"I'm sorry?"

"I go by Mary Sue." She still had that fake smile on her face.

"You go by your first and middle name?"

"Yes dear. I hope that won't be a problem?" The fake smile just got more extreme.

"Of course not, Mary…Sue."

"So where are you from dear?"

"Oh, I have traveled around. The last couple years before I came here I lived in Washington."

"The capitol? How exciting."

'No the State actually."

"Oh."

More awkward silence.

"You know, we have a new lady who also came in and joined our Church yesterday. She is new to the area. Why don't I introduce the two of you?"

I did a quick scan for Bo. Out of site. He was in so much trouble. Of course talking to someone else would mean I could get away from the perfumed Joker clone.

"Of course."

She walked quickly and I struggled to keep up in heels. I saw her tap a slim women on the shoulder.

"Mary this is our newest member, besides you of course, Esme Platt."

Oh fuck.

"Nice to meet you, Mary."

"You as well, Esme."

"I will leave you two to get acquainted. Service starts in fifteen minutes lady." Mary Sue walked off. Esme smiled at me.

"I know what you are thinking. Did she bathe in that perfume? Can you imagine what it is like to my sense of smell?"

"What are you doing here, Esme?"

"What do you mean? I am attending church. I told you I was moving here."

"You're Baptist?" Like I was going to believe that.

"I'm as much of a Baptist as you are, dear." She smiled.

She had me there.

"I thought his would be a good place for us to socialize."

"In Church?" I whispered.

"Yes. Who would suspect either of us meeting here? Besides it will be fun. We can be on committees together."

Okay…

"Now, why don't we find your lovely husband and have a seat."

"Esme how did you know we would come to this Church?"

"I checked local church records and saw the name Walker on the roll. When I had research conducted into Bo's past, the detective I hired found that his parents were former members here. It was a shame about his parents. So sad. Anyway, I knew how important Church was to small town people so I decided to take a chance and join. If I didn't see you in a few Sundays I simply would have stopped attending."

Oh. Okay…wait.

"You researched Bo's past?"

"Of course dear. You have so much to relearn about me. It will be fun. Now it looks like Bo is pulling himself away from his friends. Let's go grab him and find a seat."

Is it wrong that the idea of hanging out with a vampire in church makes me feel more comfortable than some of these women who are staring? At least the vampires are honest about wanting to drink your blood.

Bo wasn't the least surprised to see Esme.

"Sister Esme." He said, nodding at her.

"Brother Robert." She replied.

"You ready to have a seat?"

"Praise God, Brother Robert. Praise God." Esme smiled.

At least Church wouldn't be boring.

Esme POV

Church was so much fun. Bella looked so beautiful. I wish the man at the front would have spoken softer so the two of us could have conversed more. Perhaps I will talk to the good reverend and Mary Sue about this at the next social.

Unfortunately it was now time to take care of some unpleasant business. I waited until the girl wolf took off. The boy always seemed much calmer. I knocked on the door and this must be the lovely Sue Clearwater. She stood there staring at me.

"Hello. I'm Esme Platt. Do you think I could possibly speak to Charlie?"

"Uh…"

"Calm down, Sue. If I was here to eat you I would have grabbed you when you opened the door. May I speak to Charlie?"

"Sue who is it?" Charlie walked up and Sue backed up.

"I was wondering when you would show up."

"Yes, Charlie. I thought it was time the two of us had a chat."

"Everything okay Charlie?" Seth was behind him now.

"Everything is fine Seth. Why don't we talk outside Esme? I'm sure you can appreciate that my soon to be step children are a little sensitive to your scent. Having it in the house would probably put Leah in a bad mood."

"Of course. Let's walk." I wasn't crazy about being indoors with their scent either.

"Charlie?'

"Stay here, Seth."

Charlie walked out and we went to the back. There was a table on the porch. He sat. I did as well. I didn't want to be rude.

"So let's cut the shit Esme. Why won't you leave Bella the hell alone?'

So much for keeping rudeness out of the conversation.

"I love her. Same as you. Always have always will. I won't leave her."

"Yes, you will."

"Make me. It's going to take a lot more wolves than you have. Better head back to La Push and see if the Alpha will let you borrow some more."

"You understand being around her puts her in more danger. I mean with Whitlock and his wife and your son and daughter, there are 5 vampires near her now. This is not a good thing. I'm sure you can appreciate my concern."

"While I can appreciate your concern, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Excuse me?"

"She can't be tracked. No one knows where she is. Not with her new identity. But what if Edward were to go back to Forks one day and hear that you suddenly up and moved to Texas. What if he hears Bella is alive? You announced it to Forks for God's Sake. I was there an hour when I heard the news. If you were really so concerned about her staying hidden you never should have moved here. You should have kept your mouth shut and stayed in Forks. Then you move less than a mile from her. What the hell were you thinking, Charlie?"

"She is my daughter! I thought she was dead for a year! I wasn't going to stay away!"

"And neither am I Charlie. Deal with it."

He took a deep breath.

"She has a mother. Her mother moved down the street. Believe me, she is very involved in Bella's life now."

"Yes, Bella mentioned that at Church."

"YOU GO TO CHURCH WITH HER?"

"Yes. Don't seem so surprised Charlie. Even though we are outside we can use our inside voices. We all have spiritual needs. You should consider going yourself. I hear you may have a problem with your temper. Maybe allowing the Lord into your heart may sooth your troubled soul."

"Seriously, fuck you Esme."

"You keep proving my point, Charlie. One of these days Bella won't be there to pull Bo off of you if you can't control that temper. He may shove your pretty badge up your ass. How is your colon? Healthy? It will need to be to pass a badge."

He was getting angry. I don't know why. We were just having a harmless chat.

"Where is Carlisle and Edward?'

"I left Carlisle. I changed my name. He can't track me. Edward was with him, last I knew."

"You left your husband over Bella? Doesn't that seem a bit obsessive to you?"

"No." Simple answers are the best sometimes.

"You won't go away will you?'

Finally he was understanding.

"No Charlie. I won't. I will kill to protect her and die to protect her. I will always be around her."

"Why?"

"Because I love her. I made a mistake in leaving her once before. I will be damned if that happens again. If you can't handle that, I feel sorry for you. But it won't change a thing."

Charlie took a deep breath.

"So what do you want to talk about? Did you just come to tell me you weren't going away?'

"No. I felt no obligation to tell you a damn thing about that. I came here for information."

"What information would that be?"

"The name and current correctional facility of the man who kidnapped Bella. I believe it is time I introduced myself to him."

Charlie smiled.

"Now that is a conversation I would love to have with you, Esme."


	20. Chapter 20

Don't own it

A/N I got a review on God and Country today saying it had been nominated for story of the month in January. But voting closed today. I'm not exactly sure what this means. I have never had a story nominated for something. If ya'll know what this means could somebody PM me. And if you are reading whoever nominated it, thanks. That's pretty cool. This chapter starts with someone getting something rammed up their butt and ends with our favorite girl getting a black eye. Enjoy.

Chapter 20

Esme POV

I have to give it to Charlie. When he says something is going to happen, it is going to happen. Reggie Cobb was in the laundry room by himself. The units were running. His normal coworkers were called away for another assignment by the night sergeant. Going through the large air vents that ventilate this place was easy enough. They were too high on the tall walls for a prisoner to scale them and sneak away. Not an issue for me. I used my fingernail to silently open the screws that were mounted inside the vent, further discouraging prisoners from trying to use the air vents as an escape.

Mr. Cobb never heard me land behind me.

"Hello Reggie."

He turned around very surprised. Then like the true predator he is, his eyes went straight to my body. I decided to wear black leather pants and a tight black leather top that showed off me cleavage. I have a great body. Sometime over the years playing the doctor's wife, I have forgotten this. Maybe it was time I started acting my age a little more. I missed Carlisle but I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying my time to myself and not being around Edward.

I had been around Edward since I woke up as a vampire. At first he was an annoyance. Eventually I came to see him as a poor replacement for the son I lost. Then after he met Bella I believed he had finally brought something wonderful to the family after putting up with him for years.

Now, I think if he found Bella I may actually kill him. No.

I know I would.

But first I had other business to take care of.

"Who the hell are you?"

I didn't answer him. Instead I walked to the door and locked it.

"My name is Esme. You won't tell anyone I am here."

"Of course not." He was smiling. I smiled back.

"No. That wasn't a question. You really won't be able to tell anyone I was here. The dead don't talk Reggie. At least most of the dead."

I walked up to him slowly. He didn't have enough sense to be afraid. He couldn't take his eyes off my breasts.

I got within arm's reach and he hit me in the face. I didn't get out of the way. According to Charlie and Special Agent Tunney, the guards took a long lunch break usually this time of night. No one heard his screams while he grabbed his bruised hand. He didn't even strike hard enough to break his hand. That must be why he needed a lead pipe in his car.

"What are you doing Reggie? That wasn't very nice."

He looked around in a panic. He looked at the camera on the wall.

"Don't bother looking at that camera. It has had technical difficulties for the past 6 hours."

"What are you doing here?" He was beginning to get frightened. But he still couldn't take his eyes off my body.

"Have a seat, Reggie. We have some issues we need to discuss." He didn't move so I gently pushed him five feet into a fold out chair by a washer.

"What do you want?"

"You got a haircut. Charlie Swan told me you had long hair. I'm curious. Why did you hit me when we both know you can't get an erection? Not after what Charlie Swan did to you."

He said nothing. He wouldn't look at me any longer.

"Look at me Reggie. Look into my eyes." I placed a finger under his chin gently and raised his head.

"Reggie, you remember Charlie Swan? The man who fried your testicles. Your tiny little balls? You remember him, don't you?"

Reggie nodded his head slowly.

"Do you remember what he said to you about death?"

"Ye…yes."

"Reggie, I heard you pled not guilty at your arraignment. Is that true?"

"Yes." He whispered.

"Why would you do that Reggie? Everyone knows you are guilty."

"My…my lawyer told me to."

"I see. There is a problem though. How many women did you rape? 80? 90? 100 or more?"

"I don't know."

"The FBI has identified 92 victims so far. 92 young girls you had your filthy hands on. 92 girls you violated in the most personal way. I understand a few of them were 14 and younger. You and your lawyer know if this goes to trial every one of those girls is going to have to relive the moment you raped them and tell a jury and a court room full of people about what happened. Then after they do this, your lawyer will attack every detail of their testimony. He will cross examine each girl for hours about the worst moment of their lives. They will go from accuser to defendant. Meanwhile you will sit there and get a perverse pleasure out of listening to all of the things you did to those girls. Does that seem like justice to you, Reggie?"

"I…I have a right to a trial."

"Rights are a funny thing. Those girls had a right not to be raped but you took that away from them, didn't you? Now here is the problem for you. Ironic actually. The one girl you didn't get was my daughter. Charlie Swan's daughter as well. You touched her though. You hurt her. Do you realize that for a year I thought she was dead? Do you know what that did to me? To her father? Do you have any idea of the anger, depression and self-loathing I went through? Of course you don't. You don't understand love. You only understand causing pain."

"What are you?" Reggie asked in a shaky voice.

"Reggie, I am running out of time. I would love to play with you all night. I would love to tear you apart piece by piece. Unfortunately we don't have all night. Charlie only was able to get a small window for me to do what needs to be done. Don't act surprised. He told you that you would die. He thought about hiring someone in prison to kill you but I felt this required a more personal touch. Take off your pants Reggie."

He didn't stand. He didn't move.

"Take off your pants Reggie. If not I will slowly cut off that pathetic organ you call your penis. Drop your pants Reggie. Now."

Reggie stood up and slowly dropped his pants.

"Underwear as well."

"Why?"

"Do as you are told."

He hesitated so I helped him out before he could see what happened.

"It's bad isn't it? Feeling exposed like this? Feeling vulnerable?"

"Yes." He whispered. Reggie was very scared now.

"On your knees, Reggie."

He didn't move.

"Reggie, do not make me force you. You know that I can."

Reggie slowly dropped to his knees.

"Kiss the ground, Reggie."

"No."

"Reggie, the more times I give you instructions that you refuse, the harder this is going to go."

He was crying. But he slowly bent over. I dropped to one knee and whispered in his ear.

"Reggie, it's okay to cry. They all cry eventually right, Reggie?" I walked to the corner and grabbed the broom that was leaned against the wall. I suppose Reggie saw me because he squealed.

"Shhh. This has to be done Reggie. Your psychotic mind cannot possibly understand the emotional pain you put those girls through and their families. But you can know what it is like to be raped."

I shoved the broom stick up his ass. He screamed.

"It's okay Reggie. You go ahead and scream as loud as you want. This is going to hurt."

Charlie POV

The phone rang. I saw that it was Agent Tunney.

"Albert."

"Charlie. Good to hear your voice. I know we had talked about your daughter possibly testifying in the punishment portion of Reggie Cobb's trial. Talking about waking up with no memory and such."

"Yes Albert. We talked. I have not mentioned it to her yet."

"I'm glad Charlie. There apparently won't be a trial. A tragedy has occurred."

"What kind of tragedy, Albert?"

"Reggie Cobb was raped to death with a broomstick off all things, tonight in the laundry room of the prison he is being held. Strangest thing I ever saw. Apparently the prisoner who did it got a little carried away and shoved the broomstick all the way through his ass straight into his heart. Unfortunately the camera in the laundry room wasn't working. We may never know who committed this terrible act."

"That is a damn tragedy, Albert."

"Yes. Anyway I just thought I would let you know in case you had mentioned this to your daughter."

"Luckily I hadn't. I appreciate the information, Albert."

"Not a problem, Chief. I understand you are working in East Texas now. Congratulations. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to call Charlie."

"Same to you, Albert. Thank you for everything."

I ended the call, sat back and smiled.

"Who was that, Charlie?" Sue asked.

"Just an old friend I met when I was searching for Bella. He was calling to congratulate me on finding my daughter."

"So how bad was it?"

"How bad was what, Sue?"

"How bad was what Esme did to Cobb?"

I had to smile at the thought.

"It was pretty bad, Sue."

"Good. The fucker deserved it. Dinner is almost ready. Come set up the table."

Jasper POV

We had just arrived back in the States. Alice had apparently lost her desire to shop in Paris. She had pretty much lost her desire for everything. I had never seen Alice sad, much less as depressed as she has been this year.

Her visions had slowed down. She had one two weeks ago. Carlisle and Edward were called by Aro to answer for the Bella Swan issue. They survived. Aro wasn't interested in Carlisle. He actually considered him a friend. Learning of the breakup of the family, he decided Carlisle was not a threat. While he wanted Edward, the breakup of the largest vampire coven in the world next to the Volturi of course, made Aro less inclined to take Edward. He was not happy Carlisle allowed Bella to get away but since she was dead now, it really didn't matter. Edward begged for death and Aro refused and told him to leave. Alice saw nothing after that. In my personal opinion, no one at the Volturi really wanted Edward around.

We were settling in our hotel in New York when another vision hit her. She stayed in a daze for a full minute before coming out of it.

"What did you see? Anything important?"

"I saw Rose and Emmett. They were…They are going to be in some sort of dance hall tomorrow night. I don't know where."

"Why would you have a vision of Rose and Emmett in a club? I can't imagine that is unusual for them."

"Yes. Except the music in the background. It wasn't typical of what they would listen to. It sounded like country music. Rose was smoking a cigarette. They were both watching a group of people but I couldn't see who."

"This happens tomorrow night? Rose was smoking? Is this all?"

"Yes, except…"

"What?"

"Jasper there was another vampire with them. A female in red leather pants and a very tight t shirt. I only saw her from behind but I could swear it was Esme."

Strange.

"Was Carlisle there?"

"No."

I grabbed my phone and dialed Carlisle.

He answered on the first ring.

"Jasper!"

Wow. He sounded very happy to hear from me. Almost too happy.

"Carlisle. I was just calling to see how you and Esme are doing."

"Oh."

"What's wrong Carlisle?" He sounded very depressed.

"Esme actually left me Jasper."

What the fuck?

"Uh..I'm sorry to hear that Carlisle. Do you know where she is? Why she left?"

"No. I don't know where she is. She went to Forks to sell the house. She called me from there and told me the memories of Bella were too much for her. She said she couldn't stand that I allowed us to follow Edward. She transferred ten million dollars from our various accounts to an account in the Caymans. I was going to track it but she told me…"

"What Carlisle?"

"She told me if I ever loved her I would respect her wishes and not search for her or allow Edward to do so."

"I see." I looked at Alice who seemed to be thinking very hard.

"So what can I help you with Jasper? How are you and Alice doing?"

"Getting better. How is Edward doing?"

"The same."

"He is still with you?"

"Where else does he have to go? Even the Volturi refused to kill him. Again."

"I'm sorry. He has brought destruction to everything you worked to build, including your marriage and you are still stuck with him. I wish the Volturi would have killed him. His immaturity has cost so many people. Most of all it cost Bella though, didn't it?"

Carlisle said nothing. Nothing needed to be said.

"I have to go Carlisle. If you need to talk, feel free to call me."

"Thank you, Jasper."

I ended the call and looked at Alice who was quickly setting up the laptop.

"What are you doing?"

"I am going to call Rose and you are going to trace the call. That vision wouldn't have come to me for just any reason. I need to know where they are. That is where we are going to be."

"Fine. I'm pretty sure if I can find the right signal I can use her phone as a tracking device as long as she has it on." I didn't know what Alice hoped to accomplish by this but at least she was showing interest in something.

"How long do you need?"

"At least a minute."

"Okay." Alice dialed the number.

"Hello."

"Rose? It's Alice."

"I know. I have caller ID. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to see how you and Emmett are doing? I was wondering if perhaps the four of us could get together and visit. I miss you two."

"The family only recently broke up Alice. We probably all need a few years to ourselves."

Yep. Something was definitely wrong. Rose would never talk to Alice like that.

Okay, normally she wouldn't talk to Alice like that.

Okay, after not hearing from her in a while, I don't think she would talk to Alice like that.

"I understand Rose. Could you at least tell me if the two of you are well?"

"Yes. We are doing great."

"Even Emmett? I know how depressed he had been."

"Yep. Emmett is much better. Time heals all right? We all need to move on. Advice you should take Alice."

"Well I was a little closer to her than you were Rose." Yep. An argument was about to start. The same argument they have had since Bella disappeared.

"Maybe if you had kept your fucking mouth shut instead of calling Edward so quickly before I could find out more, none of this would have happened." Alice said, firing the first shot.

"I've said I was sorry for that Alice. I'm through apologizing. If you think I am going to run around crying and begging your forgiveness, you can kiss my ass. I didn't make her run off. That idiot brother you loved so much did that."

"Same old Rose. You take responsibility for nothing."

"Go to hell, Alice."

"You want to say it to my face?"

"I would love to but I would have to get on my knees, you little bitch."

"Where the fuck are you, Rose? I'll stand on a box for you and we can see if you can knock me off." Yep. Alice was pissed. Luckily this civilized conversation between former siblings had lasted long enough to give me Rose's position. That was interesting.

"Emmett and I are hunting in Siberia. You are more than welcome to come down here and kiss my ass in person, bitch."

I believe Alice was about to respond, but the call ended. She looked at me.

"Siberia. You got her exact location?"

"Yes, I did. But it wasn't in Siberia."

"Where was it?"

"Dallas, Texas."

PPOV

"You think they bought it?" I asked Rose.

"I don't know. You are the one who is supposed to know shit."

"I don't know everything. If I did, I sure as hell would have stopped you and your husband from seeing her in the fucking airport. I damn sure would have seen Esme Cullen before it was too late."

"Well I think Emmett and I are going to visit her tomorrow night."

What the hell?

"The fuck you are!"

"Why not? If she knows Esme and Esme told her everything there is no point in hiding. It will make Emmett happy."

"Fuck Emmett. You agreed with me, Rose!" Damn these fucking Cullens.

"Yes. And now I have changed my mind. If she knows about vampires and her husband does then it won't make a difference. If you get to talk to her why don't we?"

"Because I will destroy…"

"Yes, yes, yes Peter. You will destroy us. Burn us to ash. Torture us. We get it. So do it already or shut up. We are going to see her tomorrow night. If you are going to kill us do it. If not, shut the fuck up. I'm tired of listening to it."

Rose Hale just walked out on me. I didn't even get to finish my threat.

This shit was getting ridiculous.

Bella POV

"Are you sure we should be going to the Icehouse Bo?"

"Why not?"

"Because you haven't been there once since we have been together, that you haven't gotten into a fight."

"That last time was totally not my fault."

"You kicked a bikers Harley over, Bo."

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

"You started a fight with the Hell's Angels."

"I had my boys with me. We managed. I think we made a good showing."

"Bo…"

"Mary, I promise. I won't start any fights tonight."

"You promise? No fighting." I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"No. I said I wouldn't start any fights. If one of the other guys gets in a fight you can't expect me to leave, can you?"

I took a deep breath.

"Bo. We are going to have to grow up one day. We are a married couple who own a business. We can't keep partying like this and expecting nothing bad to ever happen. You are going to get hurt. Why don't we just go to Roadies?"

"I like the pool tables better here. Plus they got a DJ so I don't have to listen to some crappy band."

"They have a DJ because no band in their right mind would come to this place."

"I promise, I will remain calm. Even if someone comes up and dry humps you on the dance floor I will…ah hell honey, you know if that happens the shit is gonna hit the fan."

God why did I let him talk me into dressing like this? Tightest blue jeans he could find in our closet. Red tank top that hugs me like a second skin and doesn't even come down to my belly button. You look hot babe. I love to see you dress like this darlin.

Hey did you see that guy look at you? I'm going to kick his ass. He wants me to dress like an off duty stripper and then gets pissed when guys look at me.

I swear he talks me into dressing like this on purpose. Then on Sunday he will talk me into wearing a fucking dress to church.

It was going to be time soon to have a talk about staying away from places like this.

I did agree with him about one thing though. This place was kinda fun.

Our gang already had confiscated a few tables in the corner of the building next to the dance floor. I looked to the floor and saw Stephanie slow dancing with some cowboy I had never seen before. Maybe she will fall in love and I don't know…move out? I would miss Hunter though. I suppose I would miss her too. I did love her. She was probably my best friend. But sometimes a girl wants to cook naked in her kitchen, ya know? Oh well.

We sat down and I had a long neck in my hands before my butt hit Bo's lap. If I stayed on his lap all night he would not be able to fight. If I hurried him out promising sex in the parking lot he wouldn't have time to get in a fight outside.

I swear the man treats fighting like a hobby instead of the violent act it is. It is kind of fun to watch him though. I let him dance with me a few times but I mostly straddled his waist and kept his mouth on mine all night. I had a few beers. Maybe more than a few. I had to go to the bathroom. I stood up and realized that I may have had more than a few beers. I looked in the other corner and Stephanie was a step away from blowing her cowboy in the parking lot. Bo hadn't said anything about it. I need to hurry back or he might get bored and take an interest. I looked to the other side and saw…Esme. She was standing in front of a table, watching the dancing. What the fuck was she doing here? Oh well. My eyes dropped to the table she was standing by and I saw Rose and Emmett Cullen, Mccarty,Whitlock, whatever the fuck they wanted to call themselves tonight. At least when I changed identities I kept with a name.

I thought about walking over. But it was way over there. My legs didn't feel so steady.

Shit. Esme smiled at me. The other two were looking at me. I focused a little more and saw there were more vampires at the table! Two more. A weird looking blonde dude and a short little dark haired girl. Oh fuck this must be the other Cullen couple.

"Are those more damn vampires?" Bo asked me, walking up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Yep."

Bo started laughing.

"They serving True Blood in here or what? Must be a fucking convention in town."

"That blonde is smoking. She must not know it causes cancer." I giggled. "Esme is over there. She looks great."

"Yeah."

"What do you mean yeah?"

"I was just agreeing with you. Don't get all bitchy."

"Fine. I'll let it go. You better never say Renee looks great though. We will definitely….have…problems. How much have I had to drink?"

"Enough apparently."

"Help me walk over there. We should say hi. It's the polite thing to do."

"I thought you had to go to the bathroom."

Oh yeah.

"I kinda forgot."

"Okay. Let's go see the vampires. God knows I didn't know enough before. Always room for more."

Jasper POV

"Hello Rose, Emmett. Esme you look…different."

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Rose asked.

"What the hell are you doing here Rose? YOU kept this from me? Esme? How dare you! How long have you known?" Alice was angry.

"I am just here to dance and enjoy the music. I found Rose and Emmett here stalking Bella."

"We've known for a few months Alice." Emmett said.

"Why isn't she with us? Sitting with us? Who is that guy with her? What the fuck is going on?"

"Alice shut up."

Whoa. Esme just told Alice to shut up. I needed to get control of this situation. I started emitting calm.

"Jasper, I'm already calm. If you start trying to manipulate my emotions and I am going to calmly shove your wife up your ass. Understand?" Esme asked.

What the fuck?

"Esme you feeling okay?"

"Never better Jasper. What can I say? Single life suits me."

"Why didn't you tell me Esme? I understand Rose is a bitch but you should have told me." Alice said, still fuming.

"I couldn't be sure."

"Sure of what Esme?"

"That the Volturi wouldn't find you Alice. If they realized Bella was alive they would never rest until she was turned."

"Besides Alice. She doesn't remember you." Emmett said.

"What?" we both asked. Esme answered.

"She was kidnapped in Indiana. By a serial rapist who drove all over the country taking girls. He couldn't overpower her so he hit her over the head and left her for dead on the side of the road just outside of Tyler Texas. A man found her and took her in. The blow to her head gave her permanent amnesia. She fell in love with the man who took her in and they were married. The man whose lap she is currently occupying while checking his tonsils with her tongue. Charlie Swan found her the day of her wedding. Rose and Emmett found her when they saw Bella in an airport returning from her honeymoon. I found her a few weeks later in Forks. She was searching for information about her past. She came to the house. I knew I couldn't go back or tell Carlisle because Edward would find out. Edward cannot interfere in her life again. So I told her everything. Her and her husband. As long as she is hiding here she is safe. As long as none of us ever come in contact with the Volturi."

Alice and I were silent while we contemplated this.

"What if the Volturi find her?" I asked.

"Charlie moved here. He has two wolves living with him. Leah and Seth. Charlie and their mother are living together. Peter Whitlock is a descendant of Bella's husband." Peter? That fucker!

"He is dedicated to keeping both of them safe so Bella can breed future little Peters. A truly frightening thought but we can all hope for girls. Between all of us and the La Push Wolf Pack who will come if needed, we will kill the Volturi or die trying." Esme said as if discussing the weather. She seemed like a different person. She was dressed…I had never seen her look like that. I'm not sure I had ever seen any part of her breasts much less as much as I was seeing now. A guy just walked by and checked her out and she smiled and winked at him.

"So Bella has no memory of our friendship?" Alice asked quietly.

"No. She knows who you are. That is it." Esme replied, eyes watching the dance floor and slightly smiling. "Oh look, she and her husband saw us. She is coming over."

"Hello Esme."

"Hello Mary." Mary? "Bo, good to see you."

"So what brings you…here?" Bella asked her while hugging Esme.

"I thought I would come try to pick up a man." Esme smiled. Bella laughed.

"Let me guess? For dinner?" Both of them laughed.

"Very funny Bella." Esme said rolling her eyes.

"Hey it's my pretty stalker and her big guy." Bell said leaning over the table in front of Rose.

"It's good to see you Mary. Bo you look well." Rose said. Bo nodded.

Finally she turned to Alice and I. Alice was feeling a myriad of emotions. I couldn't keep up with them all.

"Now ya'll I don't believe I have met…ya'll. Bo, how much did you say I had to drink? Do they have twins or am I seeing double?"

"You're seeing double baby." Bo seemed to find this highly amusing.

"Soooorrrryyy. I have been sitting on my husband's lap all night keeping him distracted and must have lost count. I am Mary and I bet ya'll are Alice and Jacob…no. Don't tell me… Jasper. Jasper right?"

"Right Bella." A few times over the past 15 months I had thought of what finding Bella alive would be like. The reunion we would all have. I never imagined it would be like this.

"She doesn't like to be called that." Esme immediately reminded me.

"You tell em Esme." Bella laughed.

Alice was about to say something to Bella when we all heard it. Even Bella.

"Get your hands off my man, you fucking slut!"

"Ahh shit, that's Stephanie they are talking to." Bo said finally speaking a sentence.

We all looked and saw two females were pulling a blonde by her hair.

"Those fucking bitches!" Bella said suddenly. Apparently her legs weren't unsteady anymore. She ran across the dance floor.

"Hey bitch!" One of the girls attacking the blonde turned towards Bella.

Bella Swan, the nicest girl I had ever met in my existence just punched a girl in the eye. The girl dropped hard. The one holding the blonde's hair turned toward Bella and hit Bella in the eye. Bella didn't go down. She bent over and came up swinging. Other girls from the table Bella had been at jumped in. I looked up and saw her husband still standing with us and smiling. At least twenty girls were fighting on the dance floor now. I looked at Emmett and Rose who looked as shocked as I was. Esme was laughing. Bella's hair just got pulled. Bella kicked the girl in the gut and scratched her face.

Bo laughed.

"It was nice meeting ya'll but we are about five minutes away from Mary having to be arrested by her father. I really need to get her out of here."

We watched as he ran into the mass of girl's bodies fighting each other. A man just grabbed Bella. I prepared to attack him but Bo hit him in the jaw. A friend of his hit Bo in the mouth. Some guy in a cowboy hat hit that guy. Bo finally grabbed Bella and threw him over his shoulder. He grabbed the blonde who was the first one attacked and threw her over his other shoulder and ran outside. Bella was swinging at people on her way out.

"Should we do something?" I asked, to no one in particular.

"No. Let them work this out." Esme replied still smiling.

We followed Bo and Bella outside and saw him dump both girls in a large truck. He was still laughing. I smelt blood. His lip must be cut. A large group of people came running out of the bar. A few guys and girls jumped in the back of Bo's truck and he drove off. The rest got into trucks and drove off right behind them. I could hear the sirens in the distance.

"So this is probably a good time to leave." I mentioned casually.

"Follow me. We can go to Bella's house and catch up outside. Maybe have breakfast with her and Bo in the morning. Something tells me we won't be going to church in the morning." Esme said.

"You go to church with her?" Alice asked.

"Yes. Are you going to follow me before the cops get here? I doubt Charlie would be happy about us being here. He is on duty tonight."

By the next morning we had been caught up on everything. It was surreal. Bella had lost her memory. Peter gave her a new identity because he knew she was supposed to be with his great, great nephew. Peter had been trying to keep her hidden.

"I can't believe this shit." Alice understated.

The door opened and a guy walked out, squinting in the sun. He staggered to a truck and drove off.

"Shall we go inside?" Esme asked.

She walked in without asking us to follow. I walked in and saw a mass of bodies on the floor. They were all passed out. One pretty girl was on the coffee table half naked. I could see a naked guy lying on the back porch. We were all silent. Rose and Alice looked shocked. Emmett was smiling. Esme just chuckled. The bedroom door opened up and Bo walked out in boxers. He had a red silk thong on his head and a red bra wrapped around his wrist. He didn't seem surprised to see us.

"Mornin. Make yourselves at home. Everyone should be rising in the next couple hours. I got to find Chris's clothes before he goes bare assed around the neighborhood. Esme would you start some coffee? I don't think Rocky in there is going to be much in a mood to be the happy homemaker today."

"Of course Bo."

We stood there not saying a word. Esme started the coffee and then went to the freezer. She pulled out a wrapped package that smelt like frozen meat. Bella opened the bedroom door. She was wearing a big, worn out camouflage shirt that hung to her knees. She walked straight to the kitchen where Esme handed her the frozen meat. Bella placed it on her eye and turned toward us.

"Mornin ya'll. Sorry about cutting out visit short last night. Things got crazy quick. Let me get my friends out of here and Chris dressed and we can all visit." With that she walked out the back and we heard her telling Bo to get the ladder out because Chris's clothes were probably on the roof.

I turned to look at Alice. She looked like she wanted to say something but there was really nothing to say.

I looked at Esme.

"So Bella seems… different."


	21. Chapter 21

Don't own it

Chapter 21

BPOV

"I can't believe you let me get that drunk last night."

"I let you?" Bo asked. He seemed surprised.

"I spent most of the night on your lap. You knew how much I was drinking." I pointed out.

"Yeah, you spent most of the night straddling my waist rubbing your pussy against me giving me a permanent hard on. You expect me to think clearly when you do that?"

"I had to keep your attention. So I used the one thing guaranteed to keep your attention."

I was wearing cutoff shorts today. It was December and 82 degrees outside. Tomorrow it will be 46. Go figure.

"Everybody left?" Bo asked.

"Yeah, except for Esme and …them."

"I wonder where Peter is. Seems if the whole gang is here he should be." Bo commented.

"Yeah. But he did say we wouldn't be seeing him and to only call if needed." I remembered. "How is your lip?"

"My lip? What about that shiner you got?"

"Yeah. It's pretty sore but at least my eye isn't swollen. Bitch caught me by surprise." Still it was fun. Wish I could remember most of it.

"I need to have a serious talk with Stephanie about fucking around with married men."

"She didn't know he was married." I argued.

"You really think that?"

"I'd like to think that so I will." I hoped she didn't know.

"Still think I will be having a talk with her. We may not always be there to save her ass."

I looked at Bo, thinking I must not have heard him right.

"We? I seem to remember me saving her ass. Then I look up and my girls are there. I don't believe I ever saw you until you interrupted a perfectly good bar fight by carrying me over your shoulder and dumping my ass in the truck."

"I was trying to keep you from getting arrested by your Daddy."

"Oh shit. He and Sue, Leah, Seth and Renee and Phil are going to be here at lunch. How the hell am I going to explain this eye? You know Leah and Seth are going to smell the vampires are here."

"Fuck em."

"Say what?" I ask my husband for advice and he gives me that little nugget of wisdom.

"Fuck…them. This is our house. We will have whoever we want over. If they don't like it they can kindly leave."

"Oh." He had a point.

"Yeah your right. Fuck em. But what about this eye?"

"Tell em you got in a bar fight."

"Uh…okay. But Charlie would…you know what? Fuck em."

"That's my girl. Now finish getting your sweet little ass dressed while I go say hi to the Brady bunch."

"Fine. I'm just throwing on a t shirt. I don't feel like getting dressed up."

"All right. Hey that blonde guy, Jasper?"

"Yeah? What about him."

"Wasn't he the one who tried to bite you over a paper cut?"

"That's what Esme said."

"Stay away from paper okay?" Bo winked at me and walked out.

Asshole.

Alice POV

So Bella was…okay. I could handle this. I mean…I thought she was dead. She is alive. Let's focus on that, Alice. It will be okay. Whatever happened to her can be undone.

Maybe.

"Who the fuck are ya'll?"

A bleached blonde just walked out. I could smell the bleach in her hair.

"Hello Stephanie."

"Oh. Hey Esme. Sorry, I was looking at these other people. These more members of Mary's tanning club?"

Esme laughed. How the hell is she so involved with these people? I get Bella, but her husband and now this…woman.

"No, they are cousins of mine, who came to visit. They knew Mary in her old life and wanted to say hello."

Stephanie laughed.

"6 months ago the girl didn't know if she had a dog growing up. Now we got a momma, daddy, step kids, you and now your kin. Plus she got an Indian gal in Washington who she says was her best friend wanting her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding."

"What did you say?" I asked. Best friend? Indian girl? I know Emily and her were close after we left but best friend?

"I said she was gonna be a bridesmaid at her old best friend's wedding. Course her being my sister in law, and having so many close friends here, I doubt she considers the woman much more than a person she knows. Still though. Weird. For so long it was just the three of us, Hunter and our friends. Now she seems to be having a lot of people crawling out of the wood works.

"I am her best friend." I needed to set this little harlot straight.

"Sure you are. I thought you was Esme's cousin?"

"I was, I mean I am. But I knew Bella when we were in school together in Forks."

"What's your name?"

"Alice."

"Oh, you are the one who dragged her out of her home to go save your sorry ass brother from a misunderstanding of some sort. That worked out so well that when she got back she ran away and got kidnapped. You were a great friend then."

Oh this bitch. I have never killed a human but if I ever start I know who is first on the list.

"Well fuck it. Esme you look hot. I like the outfit. You must have had a helluva night if you haven't changed clothes yet."

"Thank you Stephanie. That's kind of you to say."

"You should dress like this more often. Show off those tits woman. You got a nice pair."

"I will keep that in mind, Stephanie." Esme smiled. Show off your tits? What the hell planet are these people from?

"I got to get to work. Esme will you let the two nymphos in the bedroom know that Hunter will be home about noon from his friend's house?"

"Of course, Stephanie. Have a nice day."

The bleached blonde left and we all had a seat.

"Esme, these people seem to be very comfortable around you. Are you over a lot?" I asked.

"Of course, Alice. Mary is my best friend."

Esme smiled and winked at me.

Okay. That kind of pissed me off.

No one said anything. After Bella and Bo had come back inside they went to their bedroom. Their "friends" true to Bo's word had slowly all gotten up from where they passed out and left, hardly sparing us a glance. The naked guy outside finally got dressed. He looked like a drag queen and had I love dick written on his forehead. I wouldn't expect this crowd to associate with a drag queen but I suppose anything is possible at this point.

Finally Bo walked in. I looked at him carefully. Handsome face. Strong jaw. Broad shoulders. Only about 6'1 or 6'2. Obviously in very good shape. Thighs like oaks. Strong hands. Esme said he made wood furniture. He was not…Edward by a long shot. I was confused. I would have thought Bella would have subconsciously picked someone who looked like Edward. Esme's theory may be true. Did Edward really draw her in without her realizing it? She obviously was more into a more rugged, rough individual.

From what we heard from outside their house last night, he was also very into her. Several times a night if last night was any indication. I can't believe she is even awake this early.

"So. New vampires huh? Why do I have a feeling it's only a matter for time before I have to get my blow torch ready for Edward Cullen?"

"I promise you that won't happen Bo. I will personally kill Edward myself if he arrives." Esme replied. We all looked at her in shock.

I know none of us were exactly friends with Edward any longer but kill him? Jasper looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders. I guess by his reaction she was being honest.

"So why are the four of you here?"

"The four of us? We can't be here but Esme can?" I asked him, a bit offended.

"We trust Esme. We don't know you." He replied, looking me in the eye.

"Bella knows us."

"No, she doesn't. She doesn't know any of you. We trust Esme because she has always been honest with us. You guys though, we haven't heard necessarily bad things about ya'll, but we haven't heard anything that would make me necessarily trust any of you."

No one said anything. There wasn't much to be said. He said nothing that wasn't true.

"Be nice Bo. They are guests. No need to be rude to the guests." Bella said walking out. Her legs looked great. She has been working out.

"So. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, right?"

We all nodded.

"It is so good to see you alive Bella. We just found out two days ago." Jasper said.

"Now I was drunk last night but I do remember Esme telling you I go by Mary now. Being called two names is freaky. If Charlie and Renee can learn, I'm sure ya'll can too."

Good lord. I thought she was just drunk last night. She really has forgotten how to speak English.

"So what brings you all here?" She just sat down on Bo's lap. Apparently this is her favorite place to sit. Judging by the racing of both their heart beats I suppose they both like it.

"We all wanted to see you Be…Mary." Emmett responded.

"Okay. Well take a good look. Here I am."

We sat in awkward silence again. I finally decided to break it.

"Bella, I mean Mary, I want you to know I love you very much."

"Oh… Thank you?" she looked confused.

"You're welcome." I took a deep breath remembering the last time I thought she was dead and finding out she wasn't. She was so happy to see me. She stood up to Jacob Black in my defense. But this was different. She remembered then. The Bella who knew and loved me was gone.

"Well then." Bo said quietly.

"I really need to get some work done before the in laws come over for lunch. If ya'll will excuse me."

Bo stood up and Bella slid off his lap staring at him. She did not look happy. She was glaring at him as he walked out.

"Asshole." She whispered under her breath. She then turned to us and smiled.

"So…"

"Mary you should really keep something cold on your eye so it doesn't swell."

"Ahh it'll be alright Esme. The last time this happened it didn't swell and I got hit harder."

"This happened before? Does he beat you?" Rose asked suddenly.

"Beat me? Who? Bo? Please. I would whip his ass with a tire iron and he knows it. Besides my baby would never lay a hand against me. We love each other too much to ever hurt each other. No, I got an elbow in my eye from an altercation at that same bar we were at last night. Only it wasn't my fault. A group of bikers were hanging outside the bar as we were leaving. One made a comment about my ass. Bo got pissed and wound up kicking the guys Harley over. He of course attacked Bo. Bo and him were fighting and his fellow gang members got involved. Then a bunch of our friends got involved. Before I knew it I had an elbow in my eye from a biker's girlfriend. Stephanie hit her. Our girlfriends all got involved. Turned into quite the fight."

Holy shit. I looked at Jasper. He had a blank look on his face. Totally unreadable, even for me.

"So who won?" Emmett asked.

"I'm sorry?" Bella said

"The fight? Who won?"

"Oh. It was kind of a draw. The cops showed up."

"You got arrested?" Rose asked.

"Oh no. Everybody took off and the cops chased after them. Bo grabbed me and we went back into the club into the men's bathroom. He took me to a stall and pinned me against the wall and we started having sex. The cops came in and heard us and left, figuring there was no way we could have been involved. Didn't even open the stall door."

"You had sex in a bathroom stall at a bar?" I asked quietly, hoping my vampire hearing must have misunderstood.

"Yeah. I don't know if it was being in a public place or the adrenalin from the fight or what but it was mind blowing."

"You had sex in a bathroom stall?" Rose asked again.

"Yes.. Trust me. There was a lot more room in that bathroom stall than in an airplane bathroom. At least in a bar bathroom your legs don't get cramped."

Jasper started silently shaking. I looked and he was trying to hold in laughter.

"Mary, I realize how you must feel about your past and not wanting to meet Edward, but would you reconsider? Because I would love nothing more than for Edward to meet you."

Bella POV

"No. I'm quite alright. I think I can go the rest of my life and never see him and be just fine. I would appreciate if you would keep my status as not dead to yourself if you happen to run into him."

"Don't worry. If he tried to see you, Peter would kill him before he ever got close." Rose mentioned casually.

"Yeah. Peter seems like a …complex guy."

"That's not the word I would use but I suppose it works." Jasper mumbled. Oh yeah. They have a history. Jasper turned Peter or something.

"So listen, you guys want to watch TV or something?"

"No, that's alright." Emmett said.

Okay. This was awkward. Fucking husband. Left me. Ride together, die together. My ass. He left me behind. I am going to run a sander over his cute little ass.

"So…" I looked to Esme for help. She was smiling. Bitch. She loved this.

"I think we should perhaps leave. I am sure Charlie and Renee would not be happy to see us all here."

Thank you Esme.

"Oh, yeah. Charlie kind of has a thing about vampires. Renee doesn't know but I can imagine she isn't ya'lls biggest fans."

"We understand Mary. It was nice to see you again." Jasper said rising. Alice looked like she was going to cry. I don't really like these people. At least Esme was fun. They kind of just sat there. Weirdo's. No wonder Esme wasn't torn up over the breakup of her family if this is who she had to hang out with.

I said bye several times and Alice tried to hug me. I was kinda caught off guard so I just stood there, making the situation even more awkward.

Esme remained behind after they walked out.

I gave her a look that said I am not pleased with you bitch.

"So thanks for that."

"I thought the reunion was lovely. The tears, the joy, the happiness…"

"Not funny Esme. That was awkward as hell."

"It was incredibly funny from my seat. I thought you were going to scream when Bo walked out."

"Yeah. I plan to pay both of you back for this."

"Mary, you have to learn to lighten up."

"I need to learn to lighten up? I didn't see you fighting last night."

"I couldn't get involved. I may have accidentally killed someone."

"True. How is that hot neighbor of yours doing?"

"Rick? He has been so sweet. So far I have gotten him to do all the repairs on my home needed for free."

"Free huh?"

"Yes, free."

Whatever. I had come over and saw her in the smallest shorts imaginable and a sports bra pretending to do Zumba in the living room while he repaired molding. It's a miracle he didn't fall off his ladder or break his neck watching her.

"Fine. If you fuck him be sure not to get carried away and break his dick off."

"Mary! I am shocked."

"The fuck you are. Give me a hug and get your cute ass out of here."

An hour later and I felt much more refreshed. A gallon of water, a shower. More water. Ice on my face. Then I smelt it. The smell of the grill being lit.

I walked outside to see Bo playing with fire.

"So. Get a lot of work done?"

"They were boring. They just sat there. Half of them weren't breathing. It was freaky. You told me not to be rude so I couldn't exactly tell them to get the fuck out of my house. Plus I knew Esme was getting a kick out of how uncomfortable you were. She wasn't going to help out so I went to get some work done."

"Get a lot done?"

"Sure. Finished the bed. It will be ready for pick up tomorrow."

"Well at least you did something productive after leaving me in a room full of emotional freaky vampires."

I heard the doorbell ring.

"Must be the werewolves." Bo mumbled.

I rolled my eyes and opened the front door. Charlie and Sue hugged me. Leah smiled. Seth hugged me. Charlie went straight to the TV and turned it on to the Cowboys game.

"Hey Mary?" Charlie asked.

"Yes?"

"I know Bo didn't hit you so why don't you tell Daddy why you have a black eye?"

"Ran into a door."

"A door? How would that give you a bruised eye?"

"The door handle hit me in the eye."

"What? Were you on your knees?" he asked.

"You really want an answer to that question, Dad?" That shut him up.

After a few minutes he felt the need to speak again.

"I was just wondering if you happened to be involved in a bar fight last night at the Icehouse. Maybe you were an innocent bystander? Accidentally got hit?"

"Fighting in a bar is against the law, Dad. You should know that."

"I do, I do. I just got the call and when I was taking witness statements a few of the girls involved stated a slim brunette with long brown hair threw the first punch and started the whole thing."

"That's not true!" Oh shit.

"So you were there?"

"What the hell Dad? You came over for lunch, not an interrogation. Do I need a lawyer present?"

"Hey, no, no. Just making conversation."

I ignored him. "How have you been Leah? Like living down here?"

"I do. I haven't met a lot of people but that's okay. I guess I'm not the most social person."

"Well why don't you come with Bo and I this next weekend? We are going camping. You can get to know our friends. Have a good time. Relax."

Leah actually smiled.

"That would be great B…Mary."

"Cool. We are leaving at 9 AM Saturday and going to Lake Tyler. Be here. We have an extra tent. We take care of the food. Just bring yourself and you can ride out with us."

"Great. Thanks." I remember what it was like to be in a strange place without knowing anyone. If I could make friends, so could she.

"So what did you and Bo do last night Mary?"

"Chilled out at home, Dad. We are a married couple. We like to sit at home and relax sometimes. Watch TV. Do married stuff."

"And that is when you hit the door handle?" Charlie asked.

"You want to eat today or watch everybody else eat?"

Bo finally came in. If Charlie asked about his lip I was going to tell him that I punched Bo in the face. I certainly felt like it this morning.

"Charlie, you should have seen your little angel last night. She kicked some serious ass! Her right hook was killer but she needs to work on keeping her guard up. Caught one in the eye as I am sure you noticed."

I'm going to fucking kill him.

Charlie and Sue were holding in laughter.

"I'm going to work on the side dishes." I stormed off to the kitchen. I heard Bo greet Renee and Phil. Hunter walked in behind them.

"Uncle Bo. I heard Mom and Aunt Mary got into a helluva fight last night at the Icehouse. Is it true?"

Fuck.

Bo POV

Our first Christmas together.

It was a good time to reflect. My family. Her family. Last Christmas it had been Steph, Hunter and I missing our parents. This Christmas actually brought joy. All because of the little girl I found on the side of the road.

"Present time!" Hunter screamed, waking us all up. Mary had worked hard on getting gifts this year. She wanted Hunter to have a great Christmas. It was actually cold outside. It felt like Christmas.

We all exchanged gifts. She got me new power tools I had been wanting. She also gave me her hospital bracelet. She had kept it this whole time. That hit me hard. Damn near brought me to tears.

I had her high school diploma framed. She found this funny. I also got her a diamond bracelet. She didn't find this funny. She liked it. A lot, judging by what she whispered in my ear, describing what she was going to do to me later, wearing only her bracelet. Stephanie gave us the best gift though. She found a job at the new Wal-Mart Distribution Center opening up and was moving into her own place. She felt it was time for her and Hunter to live on their own.

We of course made an attempt to talk her out of it. Mary made an attempt. I began thinking about how many boxes we would need to get her stuff out. Mary and I needed our own space. She needed hers. Hunter needed his.

After the presents were opened I blindfolded Mary. This wasn't the first time, but it was the first time I did it with our clothes on and outside of the bedroom. Usually when she was blindfolded we played guess what Bo is rubbing on Mary's breasts. She had gotten very good at the game. This time I walked her outside fully dressed.

"Holy shit, what is that?" she asked.

"That is your new truck, darlin. Your Dad mentioned you loved that old red Chevy you had. I thought a new red Chevy might be appropriate. You shouldn't have to share a truck with me. You deserve your own. Thanks to your hard work as business manager we can afford it."

"You bought me a truck?" she whispered.

"Yep. 2012, Chevy one ton Silverado, extended cab, 4 wheel drive."

"You got me a huge truck." She was still staring.

"Yeah…" Now I was getting nervous. I couldn't exactly exchange this gift.

"How am I going to get up in it?" she was still staring.

"There are steps on the side. Do you like it?"

"Like it? You bought me a damn four wheel drive tank! I love it!"

Okay. Now I felt better.

"It has those seat warmers you like so much."

She finally turned around and jumped on me wrapping her legs around my waist. I love it when she does that.

"Give me the keys. I want to go for a drive. Let's go for a drive!"

"Okay, cowgirl. Here are your keys. Let's go."

She giggled for the next twenty miles. She tested how fast her tank could go. It went pretty fast. I was glad the thing literally was a tank. If she ever ran into anything this was the safest vehicle I could get her in. I was hoping one day it would be carrying our kids around.

We hadn't seen any vampires except for Esme, since the awkward reunion with the Cullens. Maybe we could have a normal life. As normal as a person could have with two step siblings who were werewolves and a close family friend who was a vampire. Charlie and Sue were getting married next month in a small ceremony. The La Push gang was coming down for the wedding.

Fun…

After that it was a summer trip back to La Push for Emily's wedding.

Fun…

But right now it was the two of us. That was all I would ever need. I planned to enjoy it.


	22. Chapter 22

Don't own it

Chapter 22

Esme POV

I couldn't believe I was doing this. But I missed this so bad. The feel of a body on top of mine. The feel of a hand rubbing and squeezing my breast. The feel of a tongue deep in my pussy and a finger rubbing my clit, making me take deep breaths that I desperately needed.

"Did you miss me?"

"Shut up. I want your cock and I want it now. That's all I want from you. Give it to me."

"Is that all? What about my tongue?"

"Do anything you want with it except talk."

His fingers parted me. They didn't need to. I was so wet. I was on fire. I reached my hand to his waist and grab his cock. It was throbbing in my hand and felt like it was about to burst. I guided it to my entrance and he push hard. I screamed. It wasn't in pain. My body immediately went out of control. My vampire body that I always had perfect control over was trembling and I couldn't stop it. My legs felt weak. I gave up trying to wrap them around his beautiful ass and let my feet hit my mattress. Leaving my legs spread wide for him, on my back, lying and trembling. He laid on top of me. I could feel his breath in my hair. Feel his chest pressing my breasts down. Sliding back and forth. Even without sweat the electricity from our combined bodies was driving me wild.

I felt a rush in my head. It sounded like a train coming towards me. The burn that stared at my pussy was rising into my belly all the way to my breast. He started moving at inhuman speeds. My bed broke from under us and I barely noticed the short drop to the ground. He just fucked me harder. That was what he was doing. Fucking me. No gentleness. Fuck gentleness. He was hammering my pussy and my breaths couldn't keep up. Everyone brought more of his animal scent and drove me closer to the brink. I exploded in orgasm, and bit down on his shoulder, my hands in a death grip in his hair. I finally came down and my body stopped trembling. I was only slightly shaking. His body left mine but his cock never came out of me. My eyes were closed. I didn't want to open them. He leaned up and I felt my ass lifted from the bed and placed on what felt like his knees. His hands were on my breasts again teasing my nipples. He started moving again, in an about, slowly this time. My ass was raised on his knees and my back was pressed to the mattress by his hands on my breasts. I realized from the warm liquid slowly moving across my skin to the bottom of my ass that he had cum as well.

"What are you doing? Haven't you had enough? You got what you wanted."

"I waited for this for too long. You told me to stop talking. Shut up Esme. I'm not done with you by a long shot. I never will be."

His fingers pinched my clit and I moaned. I couldn't help myself. I slowly opened my eyes and saw he had lifted the legs I could barely feel anymore against his shoulders. One hand was under my ass and the other was on top of my pussy rubbing my mound while he slowly fucked me. I looked at his gorgeous abs flexing. The muscles in his chest tensing every time his hand ran up and down, between my spread legs. I was completely in his power and didn't give a damn.

I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be in control. But he squeezed my clit again at the same time his cock hit the spot inside that had been neglected to long. I was knocked out by a wave of pleasure.

It must have been hours that he fucked me like this. I barely noticed the sun shine trying to break through the blinds. Every so often he would bring me to orgasm, whenever he wanted to. I felt him come three more times. Every time he came he pressed underneath my belly button, almost like he was making sure it stayed in me. Squeezing me. Making me burst with the pleasure that seemingly had taken root in my body and wouldn't let go. We came together the last time. I literally couldn't move. I could barely open my eye. He finally stopped moving and I felt him leave me. I instantly wanted him back.

"Are you finally done with me?" I whispered, not looking him in the eyes.

"Never."

He flipped me over like I was nothing but a toy in his hands. I suppose I was. My cheek hit the mattress and I closed my eyes tight again. He raise my hips and my ass was in the air. He entered my from behind. The feeling of his pelvis slapping against my ass seemed to send a small electrical current straight down my back. I felt one of his hands slap my ass and the pain ignited my senses making me feel the pleasure more deeply. His other hand slid between my ass cheeks. I wanted to ask him what he was doing but all I could do was whisper while he slid in and out. I felt his thumb barely go inside my ass, just enough for me to know it was there. I had never been touched there before. I tensed somewhat but I couldn't stop him now. I really, really wanted to be strong. And I really didn't. The fingers of the hand whose thumb was currently pressing between my ass cheeks spread my lips wider for his cock. Then they found my clit again and I lost the ability to speak. His other hand brushed my hair away from my neck. I knew what he was going to do. I could have told him to stop. He would have. Instead all I did was enjoy the seemingly constant orgasm he gave. I knew I was on my knees still but I couldn't feel them.

His hand clenched. Fingers pressing on my pussy and thumb pressing on my ass and I bit the mattress and came harder than I have in my existence. I felt him fill me up. Then his teeth. His teeth buried in the back of my neck. He could have killed me if he wanted. But I knew he wouldn't. Instead his teeth broke my skin and I saw a bright light, even though my eyes were closed. My head finally cleared and he pulled out of me slowly and collapsed on his back next to me. I forced my eyes to stay open and crawled to his waist. Taking his cock in my mouth I could taste the two of us mixed. I continued to clean him. Soon he was hard again. I squeezed his balls and he came again in my mouth. I swallowed ever bit of it. He tasted like his scent. Wild. I wanted to keep going, ride him, but I saw the day had given way to night. If I kept going I doubt I would be very good. For the first time in my existence I felt like my body wouldn't do what my mind commanded.

I suppose everyone has their limits.

I lay in the dark, aware of his body next to mine. I listened to the deep breaths he was taking. I was doing the same. We were getting his on the scent of our coupling.

I finally calmed down enough to think rationally.

"Garrett, we can't keep doing this."

He laughed of course.

"Of course we can. You honestly think we can stop now? Don't lie to yourself Esme. It's not attractive."

"I'm still married to Carlisle."

"You left him. Vampires pretty much have too many identities to be bound by things like marriage certificates. You left him, you became free. That means you are not married to Carlisle. Hence, I don't see what the fucking problem is. Plus I'm sure he is going to smell that lovely little bite mark I left on the back of your neck. If I ever see him again I plan to make sure he smells the one on my shoulder. And the one from last week on my ribs. What about the one on the side of my neck? Think he night notice that?"

"I…love Carlisle. I only left him to keep Bella…"

"Safe. Yes. You left him over a human. You were angry at him before. He let Edward Cullen run your family. It was only a matter of time before you left Esme. I know you love your human but she honestly gave you the perfect chance to leave."

"That's not true. I do love her. That's why I did what I did."

"Yes. You love her. You loved her more than our husband. You could have asked him to make Edward leave. Gone to him and kept the news of your precious Isabella's life to yourself. He never would have let you near the Volturi. But you didn't. You left him behind. Didn't you say right after you found out about Bella you called and left him not five minutes later? It must have been a difficult decision, taking a whole five minutes to make."

"Fuck you Garrett."

"Go to hell Esme. You know I am right. You wanted me the first time we saw each other 53 years ago. You remember that day right? Of course you do. Do you know what I saw the first time I looked into your eyes?"

"A woman you wanted to fuck?" I asked lightly laughing.

"Yes. But I also saw a woman who was trapped. A sexy as hell vampire who was dressed like an old fucking lady, playing mommy to Carlisle's pretend family. All so he could be a fucking doctor. That wasn't you Esme. You are a fighter. You are emotional. You are not a fucking mother to that pack of vampire wannabes. You are a damn sexy vampire who has needs of your own. You let him turn you into a fucking Stepford wife. Don't be angry at me that I reminded you of what you are."

"We use each other to satisfy our mutual needs."

"We love each other and you're too much of a stubborn bitch to admit it. You finally broke free of Carlisle and became what you are meant to be. Now if you could find the guts to take the next step and be with who you are supposed to be with, you could be happy."

"What makes you think I am not happy? I have Bella. I don't have to deal with Edward or any of those brats any longer."

"You never had to deal with those brats. Your Bella doesn't need a mother either. You need a friend who doesn't give a damn about the Cullens. That's what she is. She is your friend. Probably your best friend. Just because you let yourself be brainwashed by Doctor Cullen into mothering everyone doesn't mean that everyone you meet needs a mother. You can love her without needing any reason."

"Shut up Garrett." I hated these discussions. He sees me once every ten years, driving me crazy with the way he looks at me. The one time he finds me without Carlisle, I have to have him and now he is like a fucking addiction. An addiction that psychoanalyzes me.

"Whatever Esme. You are mine. You've never once been fucked by that pussy ex husband the way I have been fucking you the past two weeks. Do you know why? Because we fuck like vampires. He fucks like a vampire trying to pretend to be human. I'm going to hunt. Want to come?"

"I'm not feeding on humans, Garrett. No matter how much of a vampire you think I am or am not."

"Fine. I will be back…"

"Don't come back."

"Whatever. You have my cell. Call me when you want me. I have a few new positions I bet you have never been in. I can practically guarantee it. I will probably have enough time to get a shower before you call me over."

He leaned over and kissed me. I opened my mouth and let him in.

"I love you, Esme."

"I hate you, Garrett."

"Of course you do baby. Of course you do. See you in a few hours. I will wait for your call."

A few hours? I would show him.

I could probably hold out for six hours. Damn him.

I stood up slowly, making sure my legs would still work. Walking to the shower, I relaxed, feeling the water run through my hair. Then I turned on the bath and sat, pulling my knees up to my chest. My body was still tingling and the sensation of the water rising around my skin was driving me crazy. Soon the tingles would be gone and I would need more. Six hours. Maybe five. I ran my hand to the back of my neck and traced the bite mark with my fingers. It would always be a sensitive spot. I let him claim me. I never let Carlisle sink his teeth in me.

He asked and I turned him down.

That was the problem.

He asked. You can't ask to claim someone. I claimed Garrett first. I didn't ask. I knew. Garrett claimed me and never asked. He knew as well.

I was so fucked.

Bella POV

It was 9 AM and Bo and I had just settled into our cuddle positions on the couch. Castle was coming on. I loved this show. Bo put up with it to make me happy. I reached for the bowl of popcorn on the end table when the doorbell rang.

"What is Esme doing here this late?" Bo asked.

"Why do you assume it's Esme?"

"Do you know anyone else who knocks or rings the doorbell before they come into our house?"

He had a fair point. Only unless we locked the door. But most of our friends had a key to the house or knew where we kept the spare.

I stood up, kicking the blanket we had over us to the side and walked to the door. Opening it I was immediately shocked.

Esme looked like hell. Her hair was all over the place. She was wearing running shorts and a regular tee. She seemed to be shaking? Yes. It wasn't noticeable but she was shaking a bit.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm sorry for bothering you so late. I know you watch Castle every Monday at this time. I just needed to…talk?"

"Get in here, girl. You know I always have time for you."

She walked into the living room and Bo smiled.

"Evening Esme."

"Bo. Uh…could you start making me a new bed tomorrow? Mine broke."

"Again? That bed was a week old. I need to check my wood. It must be the problem."

"No! I mean…It's not the wood. I picked it up to vacuum underneath it and dropped it without thinking. I'm sorry. If it's a problem…"

"No. Of course not Esme. But I am beginning to think that you are breaking them on purpose to give us business. We are doing well, Esme. You don't have to break your furniture so you can buy new furniture." Bo smiled. I was beginning to think the same thing. She also broke a coffee table last week. Apparently she has problems remembering not to drop furniture when she vacuums.

"I'm not Bo. I'm really not. But could you maybe put extra supports under the frame and maybe double up the legs. In case I…drop it again."

"Okay. Or you could just remember not to drop it." Bo laughed. "I would think you were a crazy sleeper if I didn't know you couldn't sleep."

Esme laughed lightly but the smile didn't touch her eyes.

"Bella could we talk? Bo, I need to talk to Bell…I'm sorry, Mary, alone. Girl things, you understand? If it's a bad time I can come back…"

Esme never forgets to call me Mary. If she did, something is very wrong. I looked at Bo with the look that said get out of here. He nodded.

"It's never a bad time Esme. I'm gonna go get some wood ready for tomorrow so I can get started on your bed in the morning. Ya'll take as much time as you need." Bo stood up with a smile and walked out. I could tell he was a little worried. We both were.

As soon as he walked out I turned to Esme.

"Sit down and tell me what's wrong."

She seemed calm when she began talking. By the end there was so much venom in her eyes I could barely make out her gold Irises.

"Holy shit." I whispered.

"Yes. I don't know what to do Mary. What am I supposed to do?"

"What do you want to do?" I asked her.

"I planned to go back to Carlisle after you…uh…"

"Died?"

"Yes. Sorry."

"It's cool Esme. I do know I will die one day. Death and taxes. Kind of a fact of life, you know?"

"I know. I planned to go to Carlisle and explain. But…"

"I didn't ask what you were going to do. What do you want to do?"

"Honestly?"

"That's why you came to me, right?"

"I want to grab Garrett and never let go." She whispered.

"So that's what you need to do." I told her.

"That's it? Just grab him and forget about everything else. 80 years of marriage?"

"It could be a thousand years of marriage. I see hot guys all the time. Every guy in the wolf pack in La Push is gorgeous. You don't like werewolves and even you have to admit those boys are hot."

"Yes. They have a certain appeal." She admitted.

"Since I have had Bo, I never once looked at any of them or any other man and felt the slightest bit of attraction. I recognize they are good looking men. But not once did I ever think about one of them touching me. The idea is very disturbing to me. I have a very normal sex drive…"

"Abnormal you might say. I mean I can't imagine how your human body takes as much sex as you put it through."

"Off point Esme. Despite having a normal sex drive, I love Bo so completely the idea of someone else touching me makes me ill. You have been fantasizing about this guy for 50 years. He never even touched you until two weeks ago. Now you can't get enough of him. Have you ever felt that way about Carlisle?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? How can you say you don't know? What you just described with this Garrett guy sounds pretty recognizable. I would think you would know. If you don't know that means no."

"I love Carlisle. He is sweet and caring and…"

"Puppies are sweet and caring." I pointed out.

"I know." She sighed.

"Esme, I had to survive vampire attacks and kidnappings and head injuries and losing most of the memories of my life to finally find my soul mate and it was all worth it. I would do it again. You have it easier. This guy visits Carlisle, probably to see you, finds out you left, calls Jasper, finds out where you are and flies across the Atlantic Ocean to see you the next day. He didn't waste time worrying about anything besides getting to you. You let him bite you for God's sake."

"Yes I did." She said quietly.

"I agree with him about me also. I don't need a mother. I have one and she is more than a handful. I love you because I love you. I see a beautiful woman who has the world at her feet and hangs out with me because I know she loves me too. I see a dear friend. A big sister I always wanted. I don't need a mother and you don't need another teenage kid. You need to live and enjoy your life. Do you love him?"

"I don't…I can't love him. We have only been having sex for two weeks."

"Bullshit. I knew the moment I woke up on the side of the road that I was 18, I didn't know my name and I was crazy in love with the guy kneeling over me. I bet you realized it the first time you saw him 50 years ago."

"So you think I should throw away my marriage over a guy I may love or may just be attracted to?"

"Esme, if Carlisle hadn't turned you…if he was just a guy you met and had a normal dating relationship with, would you have married him?"

"That's a tough question Mary. My first husband was a real bastard. He was abusive. He…I probably would have married a guy like Carlisle just to get away."

"Esme you gave up your husband over me, right?"

"Yes."

"You know I love you right?"

"Yes."

"I would never give Bo up over anyone. Not even you, as much as I love you."

"I know. That's the way it should be. That's the way love is."

"So maybe you should give yourself a shot at love."

"He feeds from humans, Mary."

"I'm not saying bring him over to my place for dinner. But he is a vampire, Esme. I've heard they do that sometimes."

She took a deep breath.

"So I shouldn't feel guilty?"

"You don't feel guilty. You left Carlisle. You only feel guilty that you don't feel guilty."

Esme laughed.

"As stupid as that sounded, it made sense. Thanks for the talk Mary."

She stood up.

"Whoa. Where are you going?"

"I think I am going to call Garrett."

"Sit your ass down girl. Bo can stay outside a little longer. You are going to tell me what it's like to have sex for 24 hours straight and to have an orgasm when a man bites you."

"Fine. But first has Bo ever put his thumb…uh…"

"What?" This had to be good if she was embarrassed already.

She leaned over and whispered in my ear. Whoa.

"No he hasn't. But you can bet your cute ass he is going to now."

Bo POV

The day I have been waiting for. The day the werewolves of La Push descend onto Tyler Texas. I can feel the awkwardness in the air already. Leah had a boyfriend now. She was dating a friend of mine named Travis. She actually found a guy taller than her. Mary believes Emily is very happy about this since Sam was engaged to Leah before he informed on Emily. Not informed. What was the word? Imprinted? Yeah, imprinted. But Mary also believes that although they are not together anymore Sam may be tense around Leah with her new boyfriend. Mary is worried this may upset Emily if she sees Sam acting jealous. I honestly don't know what the fuck is wrong with these people.

Then Sue purposely made sure that Mary did not walk down the aisle with Jacob and instead walk with me which apparently has pissed Jacob off to no end. Jacob would have to walk with Leah.

Mary made me promise not to start shit with Jacob.

I told her I would just be making friendly conversation to avoid any uncomfortable silences.

They were coming to Charlie's house at any minute.

"Bo, you are going to be good aren't you?" Mary asked, walking up behind me and grabbing my hand.

"What am I? A kid? Am I going to be good?"

"Yes. You are going to be a good boy, right?"

Pat me on the fucking head, why don't you?

"Yes Mary. I will be a good boy."

She smiled at me and walked back inside. Then I heard the caravan of vehicles heading straight for us.

The giants had arrived.

I smiled and shook hands.

They smiled back.

Not awkward at all.

They went in to say hello and I saw Jake try to hug Mary and she shook his hand instead. Ha. Fucker. I walked outside.

And there he was walking behind me. I'm beginning to think he has a thing for me.

"How you been Bo?"

"Life couldn't be better Jake. Have you looked at the right girl yet?"

"Very funny."

"I take that as a no." I said quietly.

"So Jake, what have you been up to?" May as well make casual conversation

"Saving the world from evil vampires. You? Still building furniture?"

"Yeah, building furniture and making love to Mary three times a day. Lately she has had me doing this thing with my thumb…you know what? You don't need to know about that. I have to say though, life doesn't get much better. We are talking about kids. Maybe we will name one Jacob. Probably not though. I know. We could buy a puppy and name him Jacob. Course he would have to be an outside dog. Unlike Charlie we don't allow dogs in the house."

"You are going to actually use Bella to make more of you? Seems like a cruel thing to do to her and the world."

"Maybe. Better than having a litter of puppies like you wanted to have with her."

"Go to Hell. Bo. Please go fucking burn in Hell."

"Listen you overgrown child. This is what we are going to do to make MARY happy, Jacob. We are going to smile at each other. Make small talk about twice a day. Not longer than a minute. I'm going to make love to her every chance I get, so you have to smell it with that bloodhound nose of yours. You are going to call her Bella every five minutes, because every time you do it, she hates you a little more. You got all that? See you inside kid." I patted him on the back and left him growling on the front porch. Mary walked up and kissed me. I turned and saw Paul staring. Rachel was right next to him and noticed him staring. Nope. No awkwardness this weekend.

Smooth sailing.


	23. Chapter 23

Don't own it

In this chapter there are girl fights, jealous lovers, automatic weapons, alcohol abuse, poker and official misconduct by police officers. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 23

Sam POV

"Would you slow the fuck down?" I was going to be sick.

Bella laughed. Emily, Paul, Rachel, Quil and I were currently in Bella's truck/tank. I got the pleasure of sitting up front. I'm not sure if it that was good. At least I could see what was coming, I suppose.

We were currently on the road to Charlie's bachelor party. Actually it was just a party for Charlie. Sue's was tonight. The problem was the party was in the middle of some pasture. We were going to a makeshift firing range that Charlie, Bo and Bella liked to come to occasionally with Bo and Bella's friends. Basically Charlie wanted to spend the day shooting guns. Bo said something about arrows and dynamite.

Another problem besides the lack of road was that it had rained recently, making large mud puddles. Puddles which Bella was hitting at very high speeds while turning, causing her very large truck to fishtail. Bo was in front of us. He was doing the same throwing mud into Bella's windshield. Apparently this is a thing they do.

Driving trucks through mud and slinging mud at each other's vehicles.

"Lighten up Sam. Jake is in that truck with Bo and Dad. We don't want to let them out of our site. You might be a wolf down. My man and your alpha don't play well together in case you haven't noticed. I promised Sue I wouldn't let you boys get hurt while you are all down here."

"Isn't this truck a little large for you?" I asked over the blaring radio. Sweet Home Alabama was currently playing. At least Bella's taste in music had gotten better even if her English had gotten damn near unrecognizable.

"Doesn't appear too large for me, does it Sammy?" she winked. "Besides marriage has gotten me used to…big things. You know what I'm talking about, right Emily?"

"Leave her alone Sam. This is fun." Emily said from the back.

"I think I'm going to puke." Quil added.

"Man up, Quil." Paul said.

Rachel felt the need to comment, unfortunately.

"Yes, man up Quil. God forbid Bella Swan do anything wrong. If you are feeling sick it must be you and not the scrawny pale face bitch driving like a reckless idiot."

Oh shit. Bella just stopped the truck. She placed it in park.

"What did you just call me?" Bella whispered.

"What?"

"Oh I'm sorry. I forgot you don't have super hearing. I asked what you just called me." Bella said loudly turning in her seat and glaring at Rachel.

"Bella Swan or scrawny paleface bitch? I know you have a problem being called your real name so I'm not really sure which one has you upset."

"Get out of the truck." Bella said, opening the door. Shit. Paul couldn't let Rachel get hurt. I looked at him and he was panicking.

"I can't get out of the truck. You have us in a mud puddle." Rachel said.

"It's all right. You're gonna get dirty when your ass hits the ground. May as well start with your pretty shoes."

"Bitch, it is on. Paul, stay in the truck. I realize you have to protect your imprint but there won't be any protection needed."

Rachel and Bella both got out walking around opposite sides to the front of the truck.

"Ladies, let's calm down." I tried.

"Mary?" Emily said, calling her by the name that Emily hates, trying to calm her down. Bella just went from giggling to pissed off in a second. This was going to get out of hand if I didn't step in.

I was getting out of the truck. Rachel and Bella met in the front of the truck. Rachel threw her hands in the air. I suppose to yell something at her. Bella hit her in the mouth before she could say a word. Fuck. I guess Bella isn't much for small talk. Rachel dropped to her knees. Looked like her nose was bleeding.

Now we were all scrambling. Except Paul. He just sat there, shaking. He didn't want to get involved. He felt the need to but he didn't want to hurt Bella.

Bella had no problem hurting Rachel. Bo had pulled back up.

Bella just called Rachel a fucking whore and hit her in the face again. Looks like she busted her lip this time. Rachel made a halfhearted attempt so swing back from her knees. Oh shit, Paul was coming out of the truck.

"Quil, get Paul. Emily…"

Bella had her hands in Rachel's hair and was about to plant her knee in Rachel's nose. I moved to stop her, but Bo had her in the air. Bella's knee missed Rachel's nose by an inch.

"Calm down there Rocky! What's wrong?" Bo was holding Bella back.

"She called me a scrawny pale faced bitch."

"You crazy fucking bitch! I'm bleeding!" Rachel yelled. She tried to stand and slipped down farther into the mud. She looked at Paul and stuck her hand towards him. He reached out and pulled her over to him.

"You were supposed to protect me!" Rachel yelled at Paul.

"You said you didn't need protection." Paul shrugged his shoulders. He was calming down now. Thank God he didn't phase. He must really love Bella to fight the need to phase when his imprint was getting her ass handed to her.

"Why did you call her that, Rachel?" Jacob asked. He was not happy with his sister.

"Seriously, shut the hell up Jacob. She has plenty of people to stand up for her without your obsessed ass getting involved. She has you all! All of you are so up her ass it is unreal and she doesn't give a damn about any of you! Don't you see how she plays you all? What the hell is wrong with you people?"

Charlie stepped in. Bo had finally put Bella's feet on the ground and she looked like she had calmed down. Sort of. Maybe.

"Why don't we all take it down a notch? Mary, I'm sure Rachel didn't mean to call you that. She is probably…"

"Go to hell Charlie! She assaulted me! I want charges pressed against her." Rachel yelled.

"Bitch please. You wouldn't live to see the trial." Bella commented not helping the situation.

"She just fucking threatened me! Right in front of you, Deputy Swan! What about you, Paul? Do you only protect your imprint from threats, unless it's Bella Swan doing the threatening?"

"Rachel, just please drop it. Apologize for calling her…" Paul started.

"No! I am not going to apologize. She…she…"

"Kicked the shit out of you? Knocked your skank ass in the mud?" Bella laughed. Great.

"Look, nobody is pressing any charges. You girls had an argument. Let's get back in the trucks and go. We are almost to the range. Rachel you can ride with Bo, Billy, Jacob and I." Charlie offered.

"I'm not going anywhere near that crazy bitch around guns."

"I thought I was a scrawny pale face bitch? You started this shit. Don't get mad because your body can't back up your mouth. I survived vampires and a serial rapist and you think you could take me? You must be out of your damn mind!"

"Bo, if you will let me borrow your truck, I will take Rachel back to the house to get cleaned up." Paul offered.

"Why the hell did you call me that? What have I ever done to you?" Bella asked.

"Nothing. You are just you. Everybody loves you. My fucking brother worships you and my supposed soul mate is in love with you. He stares at you when he thinks you aren't looking. Do you know he says your name in his sleep?"

That shut us all up.

Apparently Paul didn't know this either, judging by the look on his face. Bella gave her a chilling look.

"Well sweetie, I'm sorry about that, but I ain't sayin his name in my sleep. I ain't calling your brother or your man on the phone and I damn sure ain't starin. If you got issues with your man, don't blame it on me. My man sure as hell don't look at other women and mine is the only name he says in our bed. Sounds like you got some issues, not me."

"Would you speak English?!" Rachel yelled. It wasn't that bad. I think I got the gist of what Bella was saying.

"Paul you should probably take her back to get cleaned up." I didn't add bandaged up. Bo tossed his keys to Paul and Jacob got Billy out of Bo's truck and into Bella's.

"You want me to drive babe?" Bo asked.

"No. I need to let out some aggression. I got this."

Oh goody…

Bella POV

That fucking whore! It's my problem she can't satisfy her man? She wants to talk shit to me? God, why did Bo have to come back? I could have smashed her nose into tiny pieces. I was so fucking pissed. I needed to calm down.

"Sweetie you need to slow down. We have people in the back of the truck now." Bo said quietly.

He was right. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw very scared looking werewolves in the back.

We finally reached the clearing. Todd's parents owned this place. I learned to shoot out here. There were a lot of paper targets all over the place in the shape of people next to trees. There were some old washers and dryers. A couple old water heaters. A rusted truck that was damn near dust. Todd and some of the other guys were already here.

This was a fun place to cut loose. Problem was I didn't trust myself around weapons right now. I needed a beer.

I was sitting on the tail gate watching the boys shoot guns and drinking a Shiner.

I knew Jake was in love with me. I thought with me living in another state he might get over it. But Paul? Bo mentioned it to me once. I didn't believe him. I should have known better than to doubt Bo.

I could see the problem. If I was supposed to be some soul mate to some guy who had absolutely no choice than to be with anyone other than me and that guy started saying another woman's name in his sleep, I would probably be pissed to. But I would take it out on him. Not the girl who has nothing to do with this.

The guy named Quil walked up.

"Hey there slugger. How you doing?"

"I'm great. I'm not the one with the busted face." I finished my bottle and popped another top.

"You want one?" I asked, figuring I should be polite.

"No thanks. It would be wasted. Our bodies' burn off alcohol long before it can affect us."

"That sucks." I said.

"Yeah. A lot of things about being a wolf suck. But there are good things too."

"Like what?" I had never heard one of them actually talk about being a wolf. I wondered what they looked like.

"The speed. The strength. The excitement. It's all such a rush."

"Sounds like a blast." I admitted. Course I think I will keep the life I have now, than you very much. Furless. Literally. Great. Now I was horny.

"It…

"Hey Jake! Why don't you run around and give us a target?" I heard Bo say from the firing line. Oh shit. Thankfully Jake ignored him. I needed to remind Bo that not everyone around here knows about wolves.

"I'll be right back. I need to tell my man to be good or put him in a time out."

"Yeah….he talks a lot…Holy Damn! What the fuck?"

I jumped at the sound of the explosion. Bo and Todd are playing with fucking dynamite again. That is so dumb. Dammit, Charlie just shot a pressurized canister with an armor piercing bullet. That fucker is still in the air.

"Yeah things get a little loud around here." I mentioned to Quil.

"Oh fuck, the police are coming." Quil said.

I turned and saw two Smith County Sheriff's Department 4 wheel drive SUVs driving up with lights and sirens on. Behind them was Teddy in his Jeep. Seth was with him. Two ladies were standing up in the back of the jeep in cutoffs and Texas flag bikini tops. Oh shit. He didn't. Of course he did.

"Charlie Swan! Place your weapons on the ground and have a seat in the chair." Someone said on the loudspeaker from the police unit.

Todd pulled out a fold out chair. Charlie looked confused. Bo was smiling. This couldn't be good.

Charlie sat in the chair and one of the officers got out of the unit.

"Steve? What the hell? Why do I have to sit? What the hell is going on?"

Deputy Steve tossed a pair of cuffs to my husband who quickly placed my father's hands behind his back. Todd then proceeded to duct tape Charlie to the chair.

"What the hell? Dave?"

I turned and saw more cops were pulling up.

Steve spoke.

"Charlie Swan. You are accused of having the lamest bachelor party in history. It's the day time for God's sake. This cannot stand. All you ladies who are present may want to look away. This is going to get rough."

I sure as hell wasn't looking away.

"Boys. Place the accused on the bed of the truck."

Bo, Todd and Teddy grabbed the chair and carried Charlie over. I got out of the way. They placed him in the back and Bo turned on the radio.

The girls in the bikini tops got into the back of the truck. My truck. Ho's better not rub any body parts on my baby.

"Now wait a damn minute…" Charlie began to protest when it sunk in what was going to happen.

"No, you wait a damn minute." Dave responded. "I don't know how ya'll did crap in Washington but if you think you are getting married in our County without strippers the day before, you are out of your damn mind. Mr. Walker if you would?"

I turned and saw Jake and Sam seemed to be frozen. Seth walked up grinning. His hair was messed up and he had lipstick on both his cheeks. I guess he had a fun ride over here. Bo turned my stereo on full blast. My speakers were awesome. This was going to get loud.

Charlie stopped cursing 10 seconds into the first song. We sat and watched two butt naked women grind up against my dad while he was duck taped and handcuffed to a chair. We were drinking beer with his coworkers. After 15 minutes they finally had mercy and let him up. He had a dopey grin on his face and was blushing. I saw Bo pay the girls some amount of cash, I didn't want to know how much, and assist them getting off…my truck. Teddy helped them back in the Jeep and Seth jumped in the back between the two blondes. They drove off and Charlie was still blushing.

"That was…" he began.

"No need to thank us Charlie. Your son in law planned the whole thing. We just gave an assist. Now everybody off duty start drinking. Everybody on duty get your asses back on patrol."

A few of the cops patted Charlie on the back while Todd cut him out of the chair. They left. A majority of cops stayed behind and began pulling out weapons. I love when these guys show up. They have the automatic weapons. The radio stayed on in the background of round after round being fired into targets.

Sam got to shoot an AK 47. He wouldn't stop grinning. Jake was even smiling a little.

The sun started going down and we all wrapped it up. Charlie had to go with the guys to our home. I had to go pick up the stripper, Leah and I had found in Tyler for Sue. She thought we were having a dinner party. Poor thing should have known better. I wonder if Rachel's nose is swollen. I bet she won't be calling me a bitch anymore.

Bo POV

"Am I dead?" I asked. The sun was shining.

"Nope." That wasn't Mary's voice.

I turned my head and saw Charlie Swan lying next to me, thankfully fully clothed. I looked at myself and saw I was fully clothed to. Problem was we were both on my living room floor.

"What the fuck happened last night?" I whispered.

"We had a fucking awesome time!" Chris yelled, jumping over the couch.

"How much did we drink?"

Charlie moaned.

"Enough that I got the IVs set up. Get up Charlie. YOU got to get married in four hours. That means we need to get you hooked up right now." Chris and Travis began pulling Charlie up off the ground and sat him in the kitchen.

"OWWW!"

"Sorry. I'll get it this time."

"Son of a bitch!"

"Stop moving." Chris complained. It's frightening that someone's life could be in his unsteady hands.

I pulled myself up and found my phone. I then noticed I had a Smith County Sheriff's badge pinned on my shirt. Guess I got deputized last night. When I could see okay I noticed I had a text from Mary.

'Don't get 2 drunk.'

"Too late." I whispered.

I walked over and found the gallon of water Mary keeps in the fridge for the mornings after we howl at the moon a little bit. I walked outside and saw the Wolves of La Push were playing catch with a football. Seriously?

"Hey Bo! How you feeling today?" Jake asked, smiling.

"God, I feel horrible. This is the first morning I can remember that I didn't wake up naked on top of or under Mary. I will make up for it tonight though." I winked at him.

Took the grin off his fucking face.

"I can't wait for the wedding. Walking her down the aisle. It will bring back memories of our wedding. When she said those beautiful vows to me. Get with me sometimes and I will tell you all about the honeymoon. But hey, I bet you are excited about walking with her at Sam's wedding right? Always a groomsmen, never a groom, right Jake?"

Now he was getting angry. Little bitch. Alpha my ass. I chuckled a little and walked back inside.

I saw Charlie sitting at the kitchen table. He looked like shit. The IV was at least dripping.

"You doin all right there old man?"

"Yeah Bo. I'm doing all right. I haven't…"

"Gotten that drunk in a long time. Don't make a habit out of it. Waking up next to you was scary as hell."

Charlie laughed lightly.

"Look on the bright side. I can practically guarantee Sue's dad and a group of angry large men won't try to crash the wedding. You already have one less problem than I did." He smiled and I patted him on the back. It was time for a shower. Jake walked in glaring. I smiled and shot him the finger.

Bella POV

The wedding was beautiful. They had it at the Rose Garden. Charlie's new coworkers and their families were there. Renee showed up because Phil told her she had too.

Mine and Bo's reception was a little wilder than Charlie and Sue's. But Sue was happy. We may have played fast and loose with the bachelorette party but we gave her what she wanted for a wedding. It was simple. Elegant. They finally left for their honeymoon to Cancun and we got to party.

The next day we said by to the La Push gang. I hugged Emily. We had kind of bonded over the long weekend. Rachel had a broken nose.

Oops.

Paul stayed away and Jacob did as well during the wedding. I danced with my husband all night long. It was a good time.

One more wedding to get through.

For now though it was enough that is was finally the two of us. Bo and I snuggling on the couch. Relaxing after a hard day of…working…in the shed.

We got a lot of work done. Completed some orders. Started on some new ones. We had recently hired Seth to sand part time. But he wasn't in today. So we polished my desk a little.

"It's nice isn't it?" I whispered into his chest.

"The quiet? Yes it is. I hate having to share you with others. I need too much attention."

"So Esme wants us to come over one day and meet her new man."

"That Gary guy?"

"Garrett."

"He's the one who did the thumb thing she told you about that you like so much?"

"Yes…"

"Cool. Can't wait to meet him."

"He feeds from people."

"Okay. I will wear a turtleneck."

I laughed.

"You're an idiot."

"Maybe…"

The doorbell rang.

The fucking doorbell rang.

I was about to blow my husband on the couch and the motherfucking doorbell rang.

"Esme." Bo said.

"I guess. I haven't seen her in a week. Maybe she finally stopped having sex."

"Yeah, maybe he pulled his…"

"Stop Bo!"

"I was going to say thumb…"

"I said stop. Let's see if it's Esme."

I walked to the door. I was confident it was Esme so I didn't worry about the fact that I only had underwear and a t shirt on.

I opened the door and it was…

"Who are you?"

"My name is Garrett. Esme is right behind me."

"Oh…oh shit! I'll be right back."

I ran to the bedroom and threw on a pair of shorts. Walking out I saw Bo was shaking Garrett's hand and Esme had walked in.

"So…"

"Opened the door in your underwear again, didn't you Mary?"

"Shut it Esme."

"I thought I would come over and introduce Garrett. I told you about him. He is…"

"Your boyfriend?" I asked, smiling.

"The reason I get to keep selling you so many beds?" Bo asked.

"I suppose both of those." Esme grinned.

"Well glad to meet you, Garrett." I told him. He was a good looking guy. Kinda wild. Not like she described Carlisle. He had shoulder length dark hair with streaks of blood red running though and the cutest little goatee.

"I have heard a lot about you both. Mary I have to say you have had the most interesting life." He smiled. He was cute. Go Esme.

We talked a while. Garrett gave us a little of his background. Revolutionary soldier. Nice. I wonder if Esme ever plays his English prisoner.

We finally decided to play poker.

Bo broke out the cards and the card table. We were about to start when the doorbell rang again. I looked at Esme.

"No heartbeats. Vampires. I got it." She said, immediately tense.

"No, I got it." Garrett said. He was at the door in a split second.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" I heard him say. I couldn't hear the response.

"I'm visiting. Were you invited?"

"Let them in Garrett." Esme said.

Jasper and Alice walked in.

"Guys." I nodded. Bo smiled. If he thought he was running outside this time he was out of his mind.

"We uh…I mean Alice saw that Esme would be playing cards tonight. Alice really can't see your future Mary, for some reason but we figured it must be you. We were wondering if we could play as well?" Jasper asked.

I looked at Esme and she shrugged her shoulders. I looked at Alice. She looked scared, like she was afraid of rejection. I hated to see anybody like that.

"Sure. Long as you understand we are playing for very low stakes here."

"I think that would be fine." Alice said.

"Bo would you pull out a couple more seats?"

"Absolutely. We can see if vampires are more fun than werewolves."

"You bet your ass we are Bo." Garrett said winking at me.

Jasper and Alice sat down. Bo was about to deal when I stopped him.

"Alice?"

"Yes Mary?"

"Do not use your powers. If you get a vision you have to fold. And Jasper, no reading any emotions to see who is bluffing. We hang cheaters around these parts."


	24. Chapter 24

Don't own it

It can't be all guns and strippers. Sometimes real life intrudes.

Chapter 24

Bella POV

La Push. It was raining. It hadn't stopped. Why won't it stop? I guess the last time I was here I was so focused on finding out about my past I never stopped to realize how damn much it rains here. It's a miracle that the damn State hasn't washed away.

"Why won't it stop raining?" I asked Bo. We were sitting on Emily's front porch watching the rain fall.

"Somebody did one hell of a rain dance one hundred years ago?" He suggested.

"You're an idiot."

"You got a better idea?"

I really didn't so I shut up and curled up into him a little more.

We would be leaving in a few hours. The wedding was nice. It was a lot more of a subdued affair than Charlie and Sue's wedding.

There were no bachelor parties. We all attended a bonfire. Apparently Wolves don't let their imprints out of their doggy site often, much less to have strippers crawling over them.

It was quiet though. The wedding was pretty. There was punch served at the reception. No alcohol. Jake tried to talk to me during the reception and I shot him down. I hated to be a bitch but it almost seems like if I were to give him the slightest conversation he would take it the wrong way. His sister and her man avoided me. I was grateful for that.

Bo and I planned to make this our last trip to La Push. If Emily wanted to see us, she and Sam could fly to Texas. The only hitch to the wedding was a howl that ripped through the air. A few of the wolves disappeared for a while. I guess to go furry. They returned an hour later. I asked Embry what it was all about. He said a blonde female vampire had been bothering them for the past year. She never killed anyone. Just showed up and then left. Almost like she was playing with them. I thought of mentioning this to Esme but then thought again. It's their problem not hers. If the vampire was killing people it would be different. Besides these boys needed something to do.

"When can we leave for the airport?" Bo asked.

"Charlie and Sue are visiting. Seth and Leah are saying goodbyes. We leave in a couple hours."

"I want to leave now." He pouted.

"Well…you can't."

Bo rolled his eyes.

"Fine. We can sit here and look at the rain some more." He was still pouting.

I admit it was boring.

"We could go to the beach." I offered.

"It's raining."

"We have rain coats."

"I look stupid in a raincoat."

"I think you look like a sexy duck." I smiled.

"A sexy duck?"

"Yes."

"You find ducks sexy?" he asked.

"If they look like you I do."

"Let's have a baby."

"Oh…"

Wait. What?

"Uh…we were talking about the beach and sexy ducks." I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. I was just thinking it would be cool to have kids when we would be young enough to enjoy and still have our lives to live when they were out of the house."

"Bo…A baby?"

"Yeah…"

"We don't even have a dog. We don't even have a plant in the house we try to keep alive. Shouldn't we start small?"

"If you don't want to or it's too soon, that's cool. I was just thinking we are doing well in business and are pretty stable and…"

"I can't legally drink alcohol yet." I pointed out. A baby?

"I know. It was a dumb idea. Just forget I said anything."

"No darlin. It wasn't a dumb idea. I'm just saying we are young and a baby would cause us to make some serious adjustments to our life. Like no more partying?"

"Fuck partying. I'm happy just being at home with you. You are the one who always says we need to lay off a little bit. I'm just taking it a step further. Besides it's not like we would give up our friends. We…look I said it was a stupid idea. We can talk about it in a couple years."

Great. Now he was sad. But you can't be sitting discussing sexy ducks one minute and throw a baby into the mix the next moment.

"Look, I'm not even saying it would take a couple years okay? You just caught me by surprise. Give me a little while to think about it."

A baby? Good lord, we need to get out of the rain. This is what happens when Bo gets bored.

Still the idea, wouldn't be bad. I mean I never thought how old I would be when we had kids. I just knew I wanted kids with him.

"So…how about the beach?" I whispered in his ear.

"Sure. The rain looks like it is letting up."

I threw on my rain coat. Bo refused to be my sexy duck. Instead the now light rain was soaking his hair and pressing his shirt to his body. Damn. The water was dripping through his hair. It was a little longer and wavier than normal.

I wouldn't mind practicing for a baby right now.

We made it to the beach and watched the waves roll in. I pointed out a cliff in the distance.

"Apparently, I jumped off that, once." I told him, smiling.

"That was pretty fucking stupid. You did that on purpose or were you trying to get away from someone?"

"I'm pretty sure on purpose." I said. I think it's pretty cool actually.

"Oh. Well…it seems pretty fucking stupid to me."

"Apparently the guys in the Pack do it all the time." I pointed out.

"Yeah, and they seem pretty fucking stupid. Let's see them do that if they didn't have superpowers."

He had a point.

"So? A baby huh?"

"Mary, just drop it. I shouldn't have brought it up. I was bored and you know how my mind wanders when I get bored. My mind just happened to be thinking about making love to you and then it went to babies. Not a big deal."

"So if I said yes, you would still drop it?"

"Are you saying yes?"

"That wasn't the question." I smiled.

"Stop fucking around with me." He smiled back.

"I'm saying I would consider it but…"

I stopped talking when I saw the look on Bo's face. He just went white. He was facing the water and I had my back to the water. I hope it wasn't a tsunami. Bo grabbed my shoulders and spun me behind him. I peered over his shoulder and wished it had been a tsunami.

A gorgeous blonde woman was walking towards us out of the surf. She had golden eyes.

"Hello you two. I saw you both once before. Walking in the woods. Do you remember? I didn't get to introduce myself because of the pesky dogs that live around her. My name is Irina."

She stuck out her hand and Bo shook it. He didn't appear scared. I was. A little. I mean it was a strange vampire. She had gold eyes and everything, but still.

"Irina, I'm Bo and this here is my wife, Mary."

"Oh. You two aren't from around here, are you?"

"No ma'am." Bo said, looking her in the eyes.

"So what brings you to La Push?"

"Visiting friends. What about you?" I stepped up to Bo's side. Not like hiding behind him was going to make a difference if this bitch went crazy.

"I'm pretty sure my friend got killed by the local wildlife."

"Oh. That sucks…" I said, not really knowing else what to say.

"Yes. It does suck."

"So why are you here?" Bo asked.

"I don't really know. I guess you could say I am studying them. Esme knew about them. I'm curious…"

"You know Esme?" I asked. Gold eyes. Of course she does. I bet this is one of those Alaskans Esme was talking about.

"Yes. Do you?" She asked.

How to play this? May as well be honest.

"Yeah, she is a very good friend of mine."

"You are very good friends with a vampire? How the hell do you even know about vampires?" She was looking agitated now. Probably should have played stupid.

"I'm related to one." Bo said quickly. Glad one of us is thinking.

"You are related to one? Who?"

"Peter Whitlock is my great, great, great uncle."

That shut her up.

"You are related to Peter Whitlock?" She said quietly.

Bo smiled.

"Yeah. You two know each other?" Bo asked.

"Not personally no. I have heard of him."

"Oh. You should meet him one day. Strange guy but seems like he would be fun to party with if he ever lightened up."

"I see. Well it was nice meeting the two of you." She suddenly seemed to be in a hurry to get away. Was Peter that unpopular?

She started walking back towards the water.

"Hey wait." I said, as Bo mumbled oh fuck.

"Yes?"

"So what are you going to do about your friend?"

"Probably nothing. I haven't decided yet. It is possible he just came after the wrong person and got caught. I learned he was doing a favor for a real bitch who I couldn't stand. Apparently he went after some human who pissed her off. If he was helping her, he probably got what he deserved. If they attacked him for no reason…well that may change things."

"Oh…okay. Good luck with your study and everything."

"Good luck with the baby thing." She smiled and jumped underwater, disappearing.

"Huh. She seemed kind of cool." I commented. "I guess she is the vampire that is driving the wolves crazy."

"Yeah. Even she thinks we should have a kid." Bo mumbled.

"What?"

"What?"

"What did you say?" I asked, knowing exactly what he said.

"She seemed like a cool vampire. It's a good thing she had golden eyes or I would have had to deal with her."

"Deal with her?" I asked, grinning.

"Yeah. Deal with her. Take her down. Take her out. You know…deal with her."

"How were you planning on dealing with a vampire, great protector?"

"I was working on it. That's why I was making small talk. To stall for time until my plan could come together."

"Oh really? Tell me what you had come up with so far Van Helsing." Smart ass.

"So far I had decided to throw your skinny ass at her and while she was draining you, I planned to run."

"Excuse me?!"

"What? It was a good plan. I didn't say it was good for both of us."

"You asshole." I told him laughing. I hit him in the shoulder.

"Calm down Rocky. Let's go tell your love sick puppies what we found out about the big bad very polite vampire we just met."

We walked back to Sam and Emily's. The wolves were in front, sniffing air.

"Don't bother. We ran her off." Bo said walking up.

"You saw a vampire?!" Jake asked.

"Yep. Nice lady. Blonde, pretty." I commented.

"What happened? How did you escape?" Jake asked.

"I kicked that bitch's ass." Bo said casually.

"You did what?" Sam asked.

"I broke out some Chuck Norris on her ass. I don't hit women but I make exceptions for vampires." Bo looked so tough. It was cute.

"Bo stop it. She came swimming up while we were at the beach. We had a nice conversation."

Since they were all looking at me like I was crazy, I went ahead and told them what we had learned.

"So she is studying us?" Jake asked.

"Yep." I responded.

"She is looking for weak points. She plans to attack us." Jake said quietly.

"I don't think so. She genuinely seemed curious. You should probably stop chasing her and she will go away." Bo suggested. "Same concept as a stray cat. You feed it once you never get rid of them. Same with her. You chase her, she gets a kick out of it and keeps coming back for more."

"She is a vampire on our land!" Jake yelled.

"Yeah, with gold eyes, who is seriously just fucking with you all. She didn't seem that broke up about her friend. I have a feeling if you stop chasing her she will get bored and leave. Believe me, it isn't hard to do around here with all this fucking rain." Bo made a good point.

"Vampires are not allowed on our land." Sam said, staring at Bo and I.

"Hey, do what the fuck you want. We don't care. Your land, your business. Now does anybody know where Charlie is? We got a plane to catch." Bo said throwing his hands in the air.

It was at that point that Charlie and Sue walked up with Leah and Seth behind them. They did not look good. Charlie looked shell shocked. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"What's wrong Charlie?" Bo asked, not even bothering to pretend something wasn't wrong.

"Bella…" oh shit he just called me Bella…"can I talk to you and Bo inside?"

I said nothing.

"Of course Charlie." Bo grabbed my hand and guided me inside. We sat down on the couch. I noticed only Sue and Charlie came in. Leah and Sue stayed outside.

"What is wrong, Dad? You are kind of freaking me out."

Charlie had tears in his eyes.

"Bella…your mother and Phil were involved in a car accident this morning. A deputy just called me."

"Okay… is she okay?" I knew already. He wouldn't tell me about a fender bender. She must be seriously hurt. Bo just squeezed my hand and put his arm around me.

"No Bella."

"That's not my…why the fuck are we hear? We need to leave now! Is she in…what hospital is she in? We have to go. How badly is she injured?"

"Be…Mary, Renee and Phil didn't make it. Phil died on scene. Your mother…" Charlie was crying. I wasn't. This was a sick joke. I don't know why he thought this was funny.

"Tell me Dad. What about my mother?" I was yelling. I didn't want to. This was just a joke but it was pissing me off and in poor taste.

"She died on the way to the hospital. They tried to save her but…it was too late. She was too injured."

"You are a fucking liar and this isn't funny!" I tried to stand up but Bo wouldn't let me. I looked at him and stopped cold. He had tears in his eyes.

Bo never cries. The only time I had ever seen him with tears in his eyes was when we got married. This was real. He would never lie to me. He believed Charlie.

"Are you…are you sure? She could be in a coma or something? Maybe she is just really sleeping and they don't know…" I couldn't see Charlie anymore. My eyes were wet. Rain drops I guess. Now I couldn't breathe. Bo was squeezing me. Somebody was screaming. I buried my head in Bo's chest to get away from the screaming but it wouldn't stop.

I realized finally that I was screaming. Bo grabbed my head and squeezed it to his chest. I was hyperventilating. I had to catch my breath. Charlie is a fucking liar!

I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't see. My eyes wouldn't clear. I felt myself waling from the chest. This was not real. Not my mother. She was too happy to be gone. She taught kids for God's sake. This wasn't happening.

I couldn't get my breathing under control. I saw blackness. I opened my eyes and found myself on a bed. Bo was next to me. Charlie was standing in the corner. Sue was wiping a cloth over my forehead.

"Bo what happened?"

"You passed out baby."

Oh yeah.

"Mom is dead?"

He nodded.

"Take me home Bo. We have to get…we have to take care of her. Her and Phil. Take me home, Bo."

I don't remember the plane ride home. I don't remember much. Mom didn't have any family besides me. Phil's family came down. I cleaned Mom's house. I cooked. I cooked a lot. Bo kept trying to get me to stop but things needed to be done. I had to talk to the funeral home. I had to deal with life insurance. Bo and Charlie offered to do it but I wouldn't let them. If I stopped I would have to think about the fact that she is dead and the only reason she was here in the first place instead of Florida where she would be safe was because of me.

I brought her here.

I overheard Charlie tell Bo that Renee and Phil were going to a diner to eat breakfast when a drunk driver coming home from a hard night of partying ran into them head on. He died too.

Bo's parents died in a wreck. This was bringing back memories for him. I had to be strong. I was strong. Right up till the funeral.

It was an open casket. Her face hadn't been hurt. Everything else had…but her face was okay. She looked so different. She didn't look real. Like a doll. I passed out when I saw her. Bo caught me. He usually did.

I sat in the front row at the cemetery. Bo on one side and Steph on the other. I was wearing a black dress. Esme had been there. I saw her in the back. I hugged her before the funeral started. Esme didn't try to tell me it would be okay. She understood death. She had lost a child. Death was final.

I barely listened to what Mom's co worker said in her eulogy. I didn't hear what Phil's brother said. I barely looked at the people who walked by and placed their hands in mine whispering condolences.

Mom had changed her will. She said she wanted to be buried in Tyler so she could be near me. I never would have thought someone as happy as she was, would give thought to something like that.

I remembered the first night I had re met her. After my honeymoon. She slept with me that night. She did it a few times after that. Gradually she stopped acting like I was going to disappear at any second and we got to know each other again. She showed me pictures of the good times we had and we talked about places to go in the summer. Neither of us had seen much of Texas besides what was around us. There were so many places we wanted to go to. Things we planned to do. New memories to make. Bo had wanted to do a big camping trip with both sets of my parents and our friends to Big Bend this summer. We were going to rent RVs.

There would be no new memories.

I stayed while they lowered the coffins. Phil would be buried next to her. Bo wouldn't let me watch the dirt go over them. He pulled me away.

The crowd came to our house. I had food ready for them. I had a lot of damn food. My friends tried to help. But I needed this. I was in such a daze it still didn't feel real.

"How you doing kid?" Charlie asked quietly.

"Mom moved here to be close to me and she died because of it. How the hell do you think I am doing?" I whispered back.

"Don't say that Bella. She would do the same thing over again. Spending this time with you was the greatest thing to ever happen to her. She got you back. The two of you became close again. She wouldn't trade that for anything in the world."

"Really Dad?"

"Yeah really."

"What about staying in Florida and seeing her grandkids on visits? What about getting to keep teaching or watching the sun set over the ocean? You think she might have liked that? The worst thing I ever did was leave her the first time. It started all this shit. Then you had to find me and she is dead because of it!"

I ran out of the room. I didn't want to hear it anymore.

I slammed my bedroom door and climbed under the covers, throwing them over my head. It was daytime outside but under the covers it was dark. In here I didn't have to think. I heard the door open. I knew it was him. I swear I may not be some mystical imprint but I can feel his presence when he is near.

He didn't say anything. He lifted the covers and got under with me. I felt his arms around me. The only good thing that happened to me since I moved to Forks, took a fucking rapist to bring to me.

He was the only reason I could deal with this. Deal with the guilt. I ruin people's lives.

How long till I ruin his?

"You're not. You are my life." He whispered.

"Did I say that out loud?" I whispered back. I didn't want to speak loudly. It was nice and dark. The dark deserved silence.

"No. But I know your soul. You are feeling guilty and blaming yourself for the actions of a drunk driver and thinking you ruin people's lives. That you will ruin mine. She lost her child. She found her child. Not many people get that opportunity. That was a gift."

"I didn't remember her."

"Not your fault. You got to know her again. You could have ignored her. Instead you loved her again and let her continue to love you."

"You don't understand Bo. She died because she was down here to be near me."

"The night my parents were killed they were going to pick up Hunter from soccer practice. I had a chair I was working on. I didn't want to stop working so I called them and asked if they could do it. Steph was working.

I burned the fucking chair."

"That happens all the time Bo. People do favors for each other."

"Yeah,and drunk drivers hit innocent people sometimes. I'm going to let you feel bad today. Tomorrow you get your ass straight. This wasn't your fault Mary. This is life."

He was right. As usual.

"Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too Mary. Now be quiet and let our friends out there take care of the guests. Let me hold you."

"Okay."

I fell asleep I guess. The sun was down when I got up and Charlie and Sue were the only ones in the house, along with Bo and Steph.

I walked up and hugged Charlie. He started crying a little. I told him I loved him. I wouldn't make the mistake of not saying that enough to anybody else. We had a light dinner that Bo made me eat and then I went back to bed.

The next morning Bo was nudging me.

"Come on. Get up."

"Why?" I moaned.

"It's 5:30. Time to get to work. Life doesn't stop Mary. I told you the feeling bad stopped yesterday. You can mourn but you aren't going to stop living. We got orders to take, product to go out and shit to build. Let's get busy."

I rolled out of the bed and watched him get ready. He walked out and I walked to the kitchen to start the coffee and breakfast. Later today we would have to meet the real estate person who was going to sell Mom's house and then settle her estate with a probate lawyer. But first we had work to do. I could do this.

Irina POV

Something was wrong.

I could smell it when I walked into the house.

Eleazar walked up to me.

"Welcome back Irina. We have visitors." He looked tense. I heard footsteps behind me. Oh fuck.

"Hello lovely Irina. Eleazar tells me you have been studying werewolves."

Aro reached out to grab my hand before I could stop him. He kissed my hand with his freaky lips and let go.

"Very interesting. You are right to be concerned dear. This threat needs to be dealt with. Perhaps…"

"Perhaps?" I asked quietly. He just knew everything I did. He knew about Peter Whitlock's nephew. If this was a problem a war would be started. Peter wouldn't back down. I had heard the stories of him and Jasper. I knew what they were capable of.

"Yes, perhaps. We will take over studying them from this point on. Should they roam from there little village we will handle them. If it appears they are keeping to themselves then we have to weigh the costs of potential losses in war to the benefit of wiping them out. Very interesting that the Cullens knew of them. How is Esme? I understand she left Carlisle. Over a dead human?"

"That is what I was told."

"Strange. That girl had an amazing effect on those around her. Most likely a very strong shield. Possibly physical as well. I was very disappointed when Carlisle let her escape and then die. Very disappointed."

"Yes, I imagine you were." I said quietly. I noticed Tanya had walked in the room along with Kate. Felix and Jane were with them. This isn't good.

"Ah well. Such is life. We move on. I understand you were close to Laurent?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I have been close to many people."

"Yes. That is what I understand." Asshole smiled. I didn't smile back.

"Well, my sympathies regardless. Unfortunately you have caught us at the end of our visit. It was good that we spoke before I had to leave. I want you to stay away from the werewolves. They are much too dangerous for someone as beautiful as yourself to be around. We will handle the situation and decide what needs to be done."

"Of course." He hasn't mentioned the humans. He could kill me for leaving them alive with knowledge of our kind. Why isn't he?

I watched Aro and his two minions walk out. I turned and saw everyone had relaxed somewhat.

"So, a little warning next time would be nice." I said, glaring at my family.

Aro POV

"Very interesting visit." I said to myself.

"I was quite bored, Master." Jane said.

"Yes. Not the most exciting family. But I learned some wonderful news. Bella Swan is alive and well!"

"What?" Felix yelled. "The Cullens lied to us?"

"No. They didn't know. Carlisle and Edward still do not know and I would like to keep it that way. But Esme Cullen knows. Bella is married to Peter Whitlock's, great, great, great nephew. He knows about her as well."

"What are we going to do, Master? Collect her at once? Turn her? Kill her? Can I kill her, Master?"

"No Jane. She will only be more powerful with age. We will find her. We will watch. I would rather not start a war with Peter Whitlock. I am certain we could destroy him but the newborns he would make to fight us stagger the mind. It could cause quite the scene. I left Irina alive because I do not want a scene. We will do this quietly. We will find her. We will watch her. Once I decide the time is right we will take her and turn her."

"Of course Master."

Jane looked so sad. She has been wanting to kill poor little Bella Swan since the moment she realized her powers did not work on her. Jane had no concept of the greater picture. I took out my phone.

"Demetri. Can you track Bella Swan?"

"I thought she was dead Master"

"I did not ask for your thoughts. She is not dead. Answer the question."

"No. I get no signature off of her. I barely had one when she was in the throne room with Cullen."

"Yes. It is as I have thought. She grows more powerful even as a human. Okay Demetri. Find Esme Cullen. Find her but do not approach. Do not let her know you are there. Watch. When you find her location I can promise you that Bella Swan will not be far behind. Let me know as soon as you find her."

"Yes Master."

What a wonderful trip. I admit I thought it would be boring. But now…now it appeared I would be getting my little shield after all.


	25. Chapter 25

Don't own it

A/N

I wanted to start off with a little explanation about how I write. I have said this in previous stories. When I start a story, I begin with an idea and some characters and a situation. I let the characters take it from there. I am not kidding when I say that sometimes I sit down and am surprised at what comes out. I am not kidding that I am surprised when I see how things turn out in the end. That is probably why I never have any warning about when a story is going to end. I just kinda know and the characters are like, leave us alone, we want to chill out now. Sometime the night before last I was watching TV and suddenly realized that Renee was going to die. I don't know why. That being said, I want you all to know I truly have no specific plan for what is going to happen the rest of this story. But I hope you will ride it out with me. I have an idea where it is headed. It's gonna probably piss some of you off. I know it pisses me off. I'm not kidding. It pisses me off. But like I said. I go where the characters take me. I do know that Bella's happy ever after isn't going to come without a few more rough times. But that is life, ain't it? Ya'lls reviews have been awesome. I love to see some of you getting emotionally involved in these characters. Thank you all.

Chapter 25

"What do you mean I can't have a baby?" I asked, not believing this shit.

Bo and I had been trying to get pregnant for 6 months now. He got checked and was good to go. I got checked. Now I am sitting in a doctor's office barely hearing him say things like anovulation, polycystic ovary syndrome, increased risk for breast cancer.

The only thing I heard clearly was that the chances of me conceiving were nearly zero.

I looked at Bo, who looked shocked.

I suppose I looked the same.

The doctor spoke about possible treatments but the odds they would work were nearly zero. I stood up and walked out. Bo was walking behind me. I heard him say a thank you to the doctor. What the fuck was he thanking him for?

I can't give him children.

He drove me home. He tried to talk to me. I didn't respond. He told me once I wouldn't ruin his life. He wanted kids. Now he was stuck with a wife who couldn't give him kids.

I walked inside and headed for our bedroom. I noticed the rooms down the hall that I had planned to fill with children. Now they were mocking me.

"Bo, I need to be alone." He stopped following me. I walked into our bathroom and turned on the shower.

He couldn't hear me cry in the shower.

Bo POV

Shit. She was going to take this hard. I was taking it hard but I had her. The doctor's words came back to me.

Increased risk of cancer? The idea of losing her scared the hell out of me. I would get her to have checkups every 6 months. I would go with her. We could beat this if it came. At least we have a warning sign now. I suppose anyone could get cancer. That's why increased risk has me so concerned.

She wanted kids. We both did. She wanted to give me kids. That didn't matter to me as long as I had her. But she would never believe that. I had just gotten her over her misguided guilt over her mother's death. She was smiling more and laughing again. Wanting to go out. Do things with our friends. Now this.

I heard the shower. She thought I didn't realize she went there to cry. I wanted to rush in and hold her.

But I would wait till she got out.

She needed to get this out and she didn't need a witness.

"You have to leave her."

I jumped back cursing. I turned and saw Peter Whitlock.

"You motherfucker! Do you know how fucking rude it is to sneak up on someone? In their own home?"

"You have to leave her. You have to carry on the line."

"Fuck you and fuck the line. You want someone to carry on the line, you got Hunter. Protect him and leave me the fuck alone!"

"There is too much of a risk of Hunter turning out like his mother." Okay now he was really pissing me off. She was no saint but that was my sister. I would shoot him if I thought it would do any good.

"That's too damn bad, Peter. You'll have to get over it. I'm not leaving her. You said it yourself. We are meant to be. She is everything to me. Sorry. She is it. Kids or no kids, I could give a damn. She is all that matters!"

"I did say you were meant to be. But I'm not always right."

"Yeah well, welcome to the world the rest of us live in."

"Don't you have any respect for those who have come before you?"

"Yeah I do. Do you? Because from what I have heard and known about the men in my family, they would never abandon someone they love. Are you sure you're related to our family? Cause you sure ain't actin like it. I am going to be with Mary till we die and then afterward too. Get over it and get out of my fucking house!"

"I'm not leaving till I talk to both of you." Peter said quietly.

"You aren't talking to her. You never get to talk to her. Get the fuck out now!" I was yelling. I hoped Mary couldn't hear me. The shower was still running.

"You can't exactly stop me or kick me out, can you nephew?" He was smiling. God, I don't think I have ever hated someone as much as I hated him in this moment.

"Maybe he can't, but I can." I looked over Peter's shoulder. Esme.

"Esme, get the fuck out of here. You are nowhere near my league. Stay the fuck out of family business, Mom." Peter turned to look at her.

"She may not be in your league but I sure as fuck am."

Garrett walked in behind her.

"Garrett, this ain't your business." Peter didn't sound so sure of himself anymore.

"My woman considers these two family. That makes them my family. You may be able to take me. Maybe. I doubt it but I give you enough credit that I admit it is possible. But you won't take both of us. You know it and I know it. Get the fuck out of here Peter. Before you piss me off."

Peter turned to me.

"No changing your mind?"

"Fuck you Peter. Burn in hell."

"What if she leaves you?"

"Then I guess I will be following her wherever she goes until I die. I would take Garrett's advice and not come back."

Peter nodded and was gone before I could blink.

"Where is she?" Esme asked.

"In the shower. How did you find out so soon?"

"I didn't. We were coming to visit and heard Whitlock talking. I'm sorry for the both of you Bo."

"Long as she is okay, that's all that matters." Esme nodded. She understood.

"You mind?" She asked, nodding towards our bedroom.

"You mind if I talk to her first? Then you can have a go."

Esme nodded.

I walked into the bedroom and saw Mary was wrapped in a towel and pulling clothes out of our closet.

"I don't care Mary. It doesn't matter to me."

"It matters to me!"

I said nothing.

"Can I hold you?"

"No." she whispered.

I walked up to her anyway and grabbed her. She practically fell into me and started crying again.

I held her for ten minutes or so while she got it out of her system.

"I understand if…"

"Don't you fucking say it. Don't you ever fucking say it, Mary."

She took a deep breath and nodded.

"You hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah. Let's go get some cheeseburgers from the country store. But, Esme is here. She wants to talk to you."

"Did you tell her?"

I didn't want to tell her about Whitlock. But we had a policy. No lies, no holding back.

"No. Whitlock showed up and she overheard him talking."

"He knew didn't he? I thought he said…"

"He was wrong. He's an ass so it doesn't surprise me."

"He wants you to leave me." She whispered.

"Won't happen. I kicked him out. We won't ever see him again. Don't worry about him."

"I wanted to give you children. You know that right?"

"Yep. Maybe we still can. Lot of kids need adopting. If that is something we want to pursue we can always go that route."

"But the child wouldn't be yours." She wouldn't look at me.

"Nope. He or she would be ours."

Mary finally nodded.

"You up to talking to Esme?"

"Yeah. Ask her to come in here please." She said a little stronger this time.

I kissed her on the mouth gently and walked out. I gave Esme a nod and she was inside before I could blink. Vampires and their freaky speed. Still not used to it.

Leah walked in. I swear nobody knocks anymore.

"How the hell did you find out so soon?" I asked.

"Find out what?"

She didn't know.

"Nothing. What's up?"

"You and Mary made any new vampire friends lately?" This was a surprise.

"You talkin about Whitlock? He ain't a friend but he was just here."

"No. I recognize his scent from the wedding. This is a scent I have never smelt before."

Garrett looked at me then back to Leah.

"Show me where."

"Let's go."

It still amazed me how used to vampires, Leah and Seth had gotten. Not that she wouldn't kill them if she had a reason. But she was actually polite to our undead friends. At least she didn't growl as much anymore around Esme and Garrett. It's amazing how different she is here from when she was in La Push.

I heard Mary crying again. This was going to be rough. But we will get through it. We get through everything else. As long as we were together, we could get through anything.

Peter POV

"You were a real ass." Charlotte said.

"I know."

"No, seriously. You were such an ass that I don't want to be around you for the first time since I met you."

Damn. She had told Rose and Emmett. They were glaring at me. Rose walked out to make a call and then came right back in and glared at me.

"You don't understand darlin. I had to…"

I never got to finish that sentence. The front wall to my fucking house blasted in and I was being tackled out the back wall by Jasper.

I stood up. He was ten feet away from me. Shit. He looked pissed. Guess I know who Rose called. I saw Charlotte, Alice, Rose and Emmett in the backyard with their arms crossed, staring at me. Guess I can't rely on any help from my wife.

"Jasper, you need to calm down…"

He hit me. I was damn glad I lived in the country. I had a feeling Jasper wasn't going to care about how much noise he made.

I tried to get myself off the ground. His boot was on my throat. I grabbed his leg and tossed him away. He spun in the air, landed like a fucking cat and was on me like stink on shit. I tried to stand and he had my neck pinned up against a tree. His teeth were going for my fucking neck!

I kicked him in the chest and attacked. I hit him a couple times but he stood his ground. Never even backed up. I succeeded in pissing him off more. He growled. I hadn't heard him growl like that since the Southern Wars.

This fucker was trying to kill me.

Time to reason with him.

"Jasper you need to calm down."

He kicked my legs out from under me. I had enough of this shit. I charged him.

And found myself flipped back into my living room. I turned my head. At least I tried. He had his arms around my head and was twisting it for me.

He had me.

Fuck.

"Jasper." I squeezed out. "Stop. I had to be sure."

He didn't let up but at least he talked.

"Sure of what? Sure you couldn't convince Bella's husband to leave her?"

"No…" Fuck that was it. That was all the breath I had.

"Jasper please don't kill him. At least not until he can explain." Charlotte said.

At least not until? What the fuck?

Jasper's grip loosed and I stood up.

"This better be good or you are dead. I realize you think I've gone soft but I promise you I turned you and I can fucking end you. You best remember who the fuck I am, son."

Jasper was pissed. His eyes were very, very black.

"I had to be sure he loved her."

"You could have asked me. Any idiot can see he loves her."

"Something bad is coming Jasper. He is going to have a decision to make. They both are. Decisions that can't be taken back. I had to know he was committed through anything before those decisions are made."

"Decisions! Something bad is coming! That's it? What decisions? What bad thing is coming?"

"I don't fucking know! It doesn't work like that. Your wife can't even see her. It's just a feeling I got. You know how my feelings work."

"Not worth a shit from what I can tell." Jasper whispered coldly.

"Look…"

"No you look. You stay away from those two. He doesn't give a fuck about your family line so I sure as fuck don't. You approach them again and I end you. Charlotte won't talk me out of it either. We understand each other?"

"Yeah. Crystal."

"You need to come up with another name." Jasper said, turning his back on me.

"What?"

"You need another last name to go by. You don't deserve to go by Bo's name and you sure as hell don't deserve to go by mine." He walked out through the hole in the front of my house. Alice, Rose, and Emmett followed.

"Where are you two going?"

"With Jasper and Alice." Rose responded.

"See ya around Peter…well I guess you don't really have a last name, anymore. Later Pete." Emmett said shooting the finger at me.

I looked at Charlotte.

She sighed.

"Let's get started fixing these walls and you can tell me why the hell I should stay with you."

God, I hate these feelings I get sometimes.

Demetri POV

Damn this was getting ridiculous. Every few months I had to check on this girl since I found her. Why the hell Aro didn't just let me take her? I could have had her a dozen times by now. Easy. Grab the human, go to the airport, hop the private jet and take off. Hell I could have started turning her before we even left the tarmac. Now we had a problem. I took out my phone to deliver the good news.

"Yes Demetri? Has something changed?"

"No Master, not with the girl. But there is more resistance here than I originally noted. It is not just Esme Cullen who is here."

"Do tell Demetri?"

"At least one shape shifter. Rose, and Emmett Cullen…"

"I am not hearing a problem yet, Demetri."

"Alice and…Jasper. Garrett. Peter and Charlotte. They are all here. Within a twenty mile radius of the girl."

Aro was silent.

"Demetri, can you take her now?"

"No Master. Esme and Garrett are with her. The Shape shifter caught my scent. I have already left the area but I know she and Garrett are tracking my scent."

"I see. Return home Demetri. It is time we took care of this situation before it gets out of hand."

"We attack the vampires?"

"No. I have no desire to start a war with Peter, Garrett or Jasper. We can get her without causing trouble. I am disappointed they picked up your scent. It will make them more alert. But nothing we cannot work around. Hurry home."

Aro ended the call. Home sounded pretty good right now. There were way too many dangerous vampires in the area. I wouldn't be coming back here alone.

Aro POV

"I am simply amazed at the bonds that girl can create." Marcus said in a bored tone.

"You are amazed brother? I thought you past amazement after all this time."

"Every vampire that meets her wants to protect her. We should leave her alone."

"She is too powerful to be left alone." Caius said from my other side. "She is a human who knows of our existence!"

"Yes. She has known for a very long time." Marcus pointed out. "Her husband knows. Neither of them have told anyone. She is not a danger to us and she is not powerful now. She is only a human. Taking her would be more trouble than it is worth."

"Marcus, you do not understand…"

"I understand perfectly Aro. You are ruled by greed and a lust for power. A drive to collect powerful toys. Someone like this though…this young woman. You cannot control her. Chelsea cannot bend her to your will. She will never be what you want her to be. She may be your shield. Until you really need her. Then she may let the shield down. That would be quite the surprise, wouldn't it?"

Marcus actually laughed.

"I regret your view of me brother. I only wish to uphold the law. She knows of us. She agreed to be turned before and she escaped. The law must be satisfied."

"Then kill her if you are so concerned about your precious law." Marcus replied.

"It is not a bad idea Aro. She may be more trouble than she is worth." Caius agreed.

"He will not kill her. He will use her husband's continued life to get her to do as he commands. Her family's life. Her friends. Isn't that right, Aro?" Marcus asked.

I turned to look at my 'brother.' He knew me too well.

"I suppose we shall see how this plays out. For right now, I have made the decision that Bella Swan will be turned. In one month, Jane and Alec will collect her. I believe Felix will go as well. Once we have her here, I promise you brother. I will control her. If her vampire friends want her life to continue they will stay away as well."

"You are playing with a fire that may finally consume you Aro. But do as you must." Marcus shrugged his shoulders. He didn't care if he lived or died. I cared. I would have Bella Swan. She belongs to the Volturi. I am the Volturi. She is mine.

"One suggestion I would make, if I may brother?"

"Of course Marcus."

"Do not turn her immediately."

"Why on Earth not?"

"Chelsea may have a chance of forging a bond as a human that she could potentially carry over into this life. It is worth a try. I will let you know if it works or not. I can promise you that you will have no chance once she is turned. Her friends and husband and family will die eventually. It would be good to have some sort of hold on her if possible. Don't you agree?"

He did make sense. But I wanted her now. However, if Chelsea could bend her human mind to the Volturi…

"Yes. We will take her and bring her here. Once we have her at the castle she cannot be touched."

BPOV

I was currently soaking in Lake Tyler with my legs wrapped around my husband. It was night. No one could see us making love in the water. We still had to listen to the catcalls of our friends sitting around the fire. I didn't care. The water felt too good not to make love.

"Mmmmmmm." All I could do was moan, squeeze a little tighter and bite his shoulder. I really didn't want to be loud and listen to more shit from my friends but I wasn't going to stop him. The water made me feel weightless. All I had to focus on was his cock inside me. I started moving my hips feeling him sliding in and out. We were splashing. More catcalls. Fuck em.

"Move me a little deeper baby." I whispered in his ear. We got in the water at shoulder height and I went crazy. I could move as fast on him as I wanted and no splashing. Oh shit he was holding me with one hand and his other worked under my bikini top. He was squeezing my nipple. He hadn't even bothered to take my bottoms off. Just pushed them aside and entered me. I was going to scream when I came. I could hurt his shoulder or let it loose. Fuck em.

I screamed in pleasure. I didn't even hear the noise this time. I was lost in his grip.

God I loved this man. I was exhausted so I kept my legs wrapped around his waist and let him carry me to the fire.

I could feel my blush. Shit, even Leah was smiling.

"Water's free if anybody wants to use it." I politely mentioned.

"That's okay. I think we will stick with the tents." Travis said.

"Awesome. We all get to hear Leah growl tonight. What is with the growling, Leah?" Todd asked.

Leah shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? My man makes me feel like an animal." She winked at me. If only her man knew.

I had been feeling better. Bo had been so great. At first I felt really broken. Not worthy of him. But he has been so good to me. He seemed to be more focused on the increased cancer risk than not having kids. He was setting up screenings with my doctors every few months. I was officially on medical watch even though there was really no reason to be concerned.

We also talked about getting on the adoption list and were looking at local agencies. I wouldn't be able to feel his child growing in me. But I could share a child with him. It would work. As long as we had each other, everything would be fine. I sat in his lap by the fire and realized from the feel of his lap that we may be needing to head to our tent soon.

"Bo, break out the guitar. Time for some Pat Green." Chris said, slurring a little bit. Adrian had a predatory grin. Looks like someone is going to wind up naked and loving dick tonight.

Bo grabbed the guitar. He was about to start strumming but he looked at me. We had talked about this and he knew what I wanted. But I told him it was up to him. He played for me some nights. Mostly when I was feeling a little down about missing my Mom, or some stupid commercial came on TV with a pregnant woman. I wanted him to share this with our friends.

"Hold on guys. Before we start all singing along, I want to sing a song to Mary."

Laughter filled our little camp fire. He ignored them and sat down next to me, placing the guitar on his knee. Suddenly everyone got quiet when they saw I wasn't laughing. I was going to try not to cry. It was tough though. When he sang to me it was so beautiful.

He began softly playing one of my favorite songs. A Woman Like You by Lee Brice. The tears were already pooling in my eyes.

I sat listening to him sing. It was a fun song, but so sweet. Described us so well.

He ended the song and kissed me. We looked up and the circle was quiet.

"When the fuck did you learn to do that?" Todd asked.

"I don't know. I always have been able to." Bo replied.

"Oh…"

"Can you play 'Songs about Texas', George's Bar?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, I can play all of Pat Green's songs. But ya'll are going to have to sing along." Bo smiled.

"We will help with the chorus. The words are yours." Tina said. She had a few tears in her eyes as well.

"I think I can manage that." He started strumming. Life wasn't perfect. But it was pretty damn good.

A/N

Okay I took a lunch break while I was writing this chapter and I have a pretty good idea where this is going to go and how it is going to wind up. I was confused for a while, going back and forth and then I realized I was missing something. I know what that is now. Now I got one of Peter's feelings. So I'm curious. Also if you haven't heard of Lee Brice because you don't like country music I would strongly suggest listening to a woman like you and I drive your truck. I drive your truck gets me choked up.

Who out there thinks I am going to vamp out Bella and who thinks she stays human? Let me know.


	26. Chapter 26

Don't own it

A/N Say what? Two chapters on a Wednesday. Oh stop. No really stop. Okay go ahead. Now ya'll still have to review both chapters. No cheating.

Chapter 26

Bella POV

What a day. Business has gotten crazy. Seth helped but Bo was going to have to hire someone full time. He was working himself to death. That meant cutting into Mary lovin time. May as well have an office to send him too every morning if that's the way it's going to be. I was busy keeping track of orders, shipments, income, expenses, bills. We were way to busy. Things needed to slow down. Or we needed help. Since neither of us were of the mind to turn down business I was of the opinion that we needed help.

Bo felt like he couldn't call it his furniture if he didn't do everything. I felt like what made it his was the woodwork and design. Others could handle the grunt work. He said he didn't want any help. I reminded him that I was business manager and I could fire him if I wanted to.

I don't think he believed me. I hated to have to go there but I may have to start withholding sex until he does what I want.

I came in at 7 to start dinner. He was still working. Ridiculous. This is cutting into me time. The time when he is inside me. We didn't even polish the desk today because my poor baby was working so hard.

I decided to make something he loved for dinner. Chopped steak and twice baked potatoes. I threw on a clean pair of jeans that didn't have sawdust all over them, A clean short top and my boots and I was ready to head into town. I needed ground beef that was already thawed.

I hate thawing meat in a microwave. Never really got the whole thing. Almost like the outside was cooked and the inside stayed frozen.

I walked out and hollered at Bo. He turned off the saw and smiled at me.

"Goin to the store baby. You need anything?"

"Yeah, bring me back one of those big cups with the crushed ice."

"Coke or Dr. Pepper?"

"Surprise me."

I blew him a kiss and went to my tank. I reached the store sooner than I thought because I was caught up singing a favorite song on the radio.

Stepping out I heard it.

"Bella Swan?"

I just got very cold despite the heat.

I turned and saw a teenage boy and an almost preteen girl come out of a black Mercedes with deep tinted windows.

"My name is…"

"We know exactly who you are Bella Swan. And you know who we are." The little girl answered. Her eyes were deep red. Her companions were as well.

"I…I really don't."

"You have forgotten us so soon?"

Oh shit. I think I had met every vampire from my past except the ones I had seen in…Italy.

"You are from Italy? The Volturi?" I whispered.

"Yes, I am Jane and this is Alec. I'm hurt you have forgotten us so soon. You made an agreement once. To be turned into one of us. You ran out on that agreement. Master Aro has ordered us to bring you to him so that you may fulfill that agreement."

I should have been scared. A part of me was. A larger part was angry.

"No."

"No?"

"No. If you want to kill me, go ahead, but I'll be damned if I am turning into one of you."

"Not an option I'm afraid. Master Aro wants you alive. Believe me I want to kill you. I wouldn't make it quick either. But unfortunately I have my orders."

Bitch looked sad. I looked at the store. If I could scream…

"If you think of causing a scene, do not bother. You will be coming willingly."

"The fuck I will."

"Look at this." She said smiling the sweetest smile.

She showed me her phone. My heart nearly stopped.

"He really is a handsome man. So focused on his work he doesn't notice the extremely large vampire taking his picture not twenty feet behind him. You cause a scene and I take you by force and tell Felix to rip him apart. You don't cause a scene, he lives. Aro will even let you hear his voice when we get to Italy to make sure he is alive. We leave him alone. He can find another wife and you can fulfill your agreement. What will it be Bella?"

Fuck.

"I'll come with you. Call him now and tell him not to hurt my husband."

"Of course." I watched her text something. Alec grabbed my arm and guided me to the back of the Mercedes. I got in willingly. What other fucking choice did I have? I prayed they kept their word about Bo. I can't believe I brought this on him. All because of stupid decisions I made when I was 17. We drove for ten minutes and pulled over.

"What are we waiting for?" I asked.

"He is late, sister."

"Give him 5 more minutes. If he does not arrive we go on without him."

"Are you talking about the vampire you sent to my home? Why ain't he back? You said you wouldn't hurt my husband."

"Did you injure your head and forget how to speak English?" the blonde asked me.

"Is my husband…"

"Shut up. Now."

Five minutes went by.

"He isn't answering his phone or texts. He is dead. Let's go." The blonde said suddenly.

The teen boy nodded and drove off. I wanted to cry. Every second took me farther from home. I wouldn't cry though. I would be strong. And I would find a way out of this or die trying to get back to Bo. No way do I go down this easy. God help them if they were stupid enough to turn me into a vampire. I will kill them all.

Bo POV

Dammit I was tired. As soon as Mary got back I was calling it a day, taking a shower, eating dinner and then seeing if I could talk her into one of those full body massages she does so well.

I was drilling some leg slots into a table when I felt something was wrong. I felt like I was being watched. Mary had just left ten minutes ago. She wouldn't be back so soon. I turned off the drill but I didn't turn around. I listened.

Nothing.

But I could feel whoever was back there.

No breathing. No shuffling of the feet.

Vampire.

I slowly turned around and there he was. A new one.

A big one. Fuck. He must have been 7 feet talk easily. And huge. Not slim. This is the kind of guy that if he were human I would think twice about fighting. Hitting with a tire iron sure but not straight up fighting.

"You here to place an order?"

"No." He was smiling. That couldn't be good.

"So what can I do for you?"

"Well I have quite the dilemma. I was supposed to take your photo with my phone, text it to my colleague to prove that you were alive and then leave. I took the photo. I sent it. But for the life of me, I can't decide why I should let you live."

"That is a dilemma. Why did you need a photo to prove that I was alive?"

"So your pretty wife would come with my friends willingly and be a good girl."

"What did you say?" Now I was pissed.

"Your wife? Bella Swan. Just so you know, I called dibs on her first. I'm a little upset you had your way with her the last couple years, But I want you to know I plan to make her a very happy vampire. I think I will start when she is turning. I love to hear a woman scream."

"You won't touch my wife."

"Boy, there is not a damn thing you can do about how and where and in what manner I touch your wife. I promise you. I plan to touch her in every manner I can think of."

"Where is my wife?" I whispered.

"She is riding to an airport. I am supposed to meet them not far from here. I don't have much time. But I am hungry so…" I ran towards the back where I kept the dynamite. I may not be able to stop his friends but we would both go up.

Then I realized. He would catch me long before I got there. I turned and he was smiling.

"Smart man. Ready to die?"

"Bring it bitch." I'll be damned if I would back down to this fucker.

He prepared to move when the wall of the shed was ripped open and a large wolf burst in. Both of them went out the other wall. Seth. He was coming over to help me. He said he would if he got his homework done early.

I ran to the box in the back and pulled out two sticks of dynamite. Grabbing the compound bow I ran outside. Seth nearly flew into me. The vampire was angry. Seth jumped back up and attacked. The big vamp made a move to swing at him and Seth grabbed his arm and ripped it off. It flew to my feet. Garrett told me that can be repaired. I ran back in the shed and grabbed a box of matches. Running back I went over and lit the arm. The big guy screamed. I guess he saw me. He charged for his arm and Seth grabbed his legs tackling him. He kicked Seth in the snout, freeing his leg. It was too late. His arm was gone. I cut the fuse short. Lighting it with a match I put the damn thing in the holder at the front of the arrow. I had one shot at this.

"Seth move!"

I fired and hit him in the stub of the arm. It jammed in between the crystal crap that was left of his upper arm. He stared at it and I dove for the ground

Less than a second later, the dynamite went off. The heat was amazing. The noise was deafening. I looked up and saw what was left of the big guy on the ground in flames. I guess Garrett was right. That venom crap really is flammable.

I looked over the flaming hulk and saw Seth lying on the ground. He was human. I ran towards him.

"Wake up little brother. Wake up!" I slapped his face a little.

His eyes finally fluttered.

"Bo?"

"Yeah. It's me Seth. I thought I blew you up for a second."

"What the hell did you shoot at him?"

"Homemade dynamite. Good job tearing his arm off. You saved my ass Seth. They have Mary. We have to get up. Go grab some pants from the house. I have to call Esme and your sister. We have to move. Now!"

Seth to his credit got up and ran inside. I got my phone from the shop.

"Esme!"

"Bo? What's wrong?"

"They have her Esme. Vampires have her. One just tried to kill me. He said others have her."

"Where was she?"

"At the Country Store down the road from our house."

"We are on our way. We will meet you there."

Seth and I arrived right as they got there. Leah was right behind them.

"They are gone." Garrett said. "What did the one who came after you look like?"

"7 feet tall. Bulky. Fucking big."

"Volturi. Where is he now?"

"He's burned. Seth tore an arm off and I shot him with an arrow loaded with dynamite."

"Fuck Bo." Leah whispered.

"Yeah congratulate me later. Right now we need to find Mary."

"It's too late. They have a head start on us. We won't stop them in time." Esme whispered.

"We can try!"

"Bo, if they took her rather than just kill her, it means they plan to turn her. We know where they are going. They are going to Italy. She won't be killed."

"She will just be turned. Is that what you are saying Esme?"

"Possibly." She admitted.

"I'm not letting them just take her. I will go to Italy myself."

"We will go with you Bo." Leah responded.

"Don't be stupid, Bo. Of course Garrett and I will go. But we need numbers. And we need Jasper. He is the only one who could pull this off."

"Pull what off?"

"Killing the Volturi and getting your wife back, son." Garrett responded.

"Leah, Seth, please go with Bo to his house. I have some calls to make. Then we will discuss strategy."

Peter POV

I got the call from Jasper. He hadn't spoken to me since our disagreement. Since he handed my ass to me on a silver platter.

"Yeah?" So I wasn't that forgiving.

"Get your ass to Bo and Bella's house now."

"Something happened, didn't it?"

"Get over here now."

Charlotte and I arrived 20 minutes later. The whole gang was here. The two wolves. Rose, Alice, Emmett and Jasper. Esme and Garrett. Esme looked murderous. Bo was walking around hitting the wall. Looks like he had broken through in some spots. I smelt blood on his knuckles.

"The Volturi have Bella." Jasper said.

"Okay." I nodded. I guess this is the big bad I felt coming down.

"We are getting her back."

"Okay. You realize what we have to do to make that happen?" I asked, knowing already that Jasper understood.

"Yep. We have to kill them all. We have talked about it in theory for years. Now it is time to put theory into practice."

I nodded.

"When do we leave?"

"Now." Esme responded.

"Wait." Bo said suddenly. "Esme I can turn on the plane. I don't have much time. We have to do it now. You can carry me to the plane."

"Bo, we don't know that she has been turned." Esme said without looking at him.

"What do you mean? You said they were going to turn her. You think they will wait? For what? I need to get my wife and I need to be like you to do it. You swore to me, Esme."

"Whoa. You swore what Esme?" I asked.

"I swore to Bo, that if anything ever happened where Bella was turned into a vampire…I would turn him."

"You can't do that kid."

"Fuck off Peter. I go where she goes. She goes vampire, I go vampire."

This is what I felt. This was what it was all about.

"You sure? You will give up your sister, your friends, your nephew, your life…once that is done, it can't be undone."

"She is my life. Always has been, always will be. Now Esme, bite me already. We don't have much time."

Esme looked very sad. I don't think she ever thought this day would come.

I looked at the two wolves to see if they had an objection. Leah looked me in the eyes.

"What? I would turn him into a wolf if I could but I can't. This is the only way for him to be with her. To rescue her."

Esme shook her head and walked towards Bo.

"Wait. He's my nephew. He won't live without her. So it's an easy decision I guess. I will do it."

"No. I want Esme to do it." Bo said glaring at me.

"What if she isn't turned though? Alice said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Bo asked.

"If she isn't turned, if we can get to her, if they delay for some reason and then you turn…it could force her to turn for you. Turning you now would be admitting they won."

"They have won!"

"No, Alice is right. Let's calm down and think about this." Esme said.

"Fine. What is there to think about?" he asked. Just like my brother. Ready to jump, no matter the cost.

"Bo, let's go get her. If she has turned I will change you. I swore I would and I will. But don't we owe it to her to find out first?" Esme asked in that soft little voice she has.

Bo seemed to think about this very hard. He finally nodded.

"I go in. I go with you."

Fuck.

"Bo, you go getting in a vampire fight you are gonna get yourself killed." I pointed out.

"I'll stay by his side." Seth said suddenly.

"Yeah. You guys fight and me and little brother here get Mary. Simple."

I took a deep breath. I almost wish we had just turned him. He could get killed and there wouldn't be a damn thing we could do to stop it.

But I knew. I found out when I spoke to him. Nothing else mattered. I couldn't protect the bloodline. He got wrapped up in her and it was irrevocable.

He would die for her in a second. If we didn't take him he would find his own way. I looked at Jasper. He nodded.

"Let's go. Charlotte would you get the jet ready?" I asked.

"Already called. It's getting ready now."

"Hold on." Bo ran out the back and came running back in with a compound bow and a metal box.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked him.

"We are gonna raid a castle right? Never know when we might need to blow up something."

"You sure that shit's not gonna blow up on the plane?" I asked.

"It'll be fine." Jasper said. Alice nodded.

"Fine. Let's all saddle up."

We all walked to the vehicles. I heard Bo speaking to Jasper.

"So these Volturi are like the vampire police huh?" he asked Jasper.

"Yep. Supposedly."

"So they are supposed to be the good guys?"

"Yeah." Jasper laughed lightly. "Something like that."

"Cool. Let's go be bad guys."

Bella POV

Damn that was a long ass plane ride. You never know what long is until you get stared at by freaky vampire kids all the way across the Atlantic who say nothing. The blonde kept staring at me and whispering something I couldn't make out. She would scrunch her eyebrows together and then look disappointed. Weird girl. The other must have been mentally challenged when he was turned. He just sat there. I know vampires don't have to move but seriously who can just sit there for hours. I fell asleep a couple times because I couldn't keep my eyes open. I would need rest if I was going to get out of this.

We finally landed. The plane was nice even if the company sucked.

"Welcome to Italy, Bella. Or should I say, welcome back. This will be your home. Probably for the rest of your existence. No matter how long or short that may be." Jane said.

"Nah. I think I will stay with Texas."

"I don't believe you have a say in the matter."

"Then you really don't know me. But don't worry. I have a feeling by the time I leave this place, you will know more about me than you ever wanted."

I followed her while Alec walked behind me into a limo. An hour and a half later and we entered a walled city. It was pretty. I may come on a vacation here with Bo and blow this fucking place up one day.

Damn I hoped he was alright. If I found out they hurt him, I would kill every one of these fuckers or die trying. Probably die trying. I had to review what I was told about vampires. Venom, flammable. Pepper Spray doesn't work. They can snap bones with a finger. They suck blood. If they just bite you it hurts like hell for 3 days and then you wake up as one of them, super strong. So, if they planned to turn me I would just wake up and kill them all. Shouldn't be a problem. But what about my husband?

How would I go back to him as a damn vampire? I would have to stay away until I could get my blood lust under control. That could take years. That can't happen. Then it hit me.

I most likely don't have a choice. Don't think about it Mary. Be brave. Focus on getting out of here and back to Bo.

I followed Jane into an underground sewer. Nice. Appropriate. Glad I had my old leather boots on.

There were vampires in the corridor. I counted three so far. Nope four. Wait…

"Welcome back Jane." A female walked from behind a desk.

"Wait. Are you human?"

"Yes. My name is Gianna…"

I hit her in the nose. Bitch dropped to the ground like somebody shot her.

"What the hell? You broke my nose!"

"Yeah. Nothing personal but I have been wanting to let out some aggression and you are the only one I could hit around here that would feel it. You should put some ice on that. You're bleeding pretty bad."

She stayed on the ground.

"Come Bella."

I moved to follow Jane but before I did, I grabbed Gianna's head and kneed her in the face. I heard another crack.

Jane turned to look at me. She was smiling.

"What? I tripped. It's dark in here."

We walked to a large door. I heard snickers behind me. I suppose Gianna wasn't that popular.

The door opened to a huge circular room. Very gothic.

"Isabella Swan. I have waited longer than I thought to see you."

Whoa. Creepy guy in a robe.

"Let me guess. We know each other?"

"Yes…we do. Do you not remember? You agreed to be turned. Edward Cullen agreed to turn you in exchange for your life. But you ran away. You made the poor boy think you were dead. That wasn't very nice Isabella."

"Actually from what I understand I ran from Edward because he refused to change me."

"What do you mean, from what you understand?"

"Complete amnesia. I got kidnapped by a guy after I ran and he knocked me on the head. I woke up with no memory. I'm sorry but I remember nothing about the last time I was here. But I have heard enough. You are Caius right?" I knew this was Aro. Fuck him.

"No…no I am Aro."

"Oh. I just figured…I mean I was told Caius was in charge so I figured it must be you since you are talking."

"We rule together. So if you lost your memory how do you know everything that went on?"

"You know."

"I do?"

"Yes. You had me watched. You know I am friends with Esme. I got kidnapped…again…and brought a long ways from home so let's not play games. I'm tired, I'm hungry and I really need to pee."

Aro laughed. I don't know why. I wasn't lying.

"I see the fire you had before is still there Bella."

"I want to speak to my husband."

"Excuse me?"

"She…" I pointed at Jane…"told me I could speak to my husband when I got here."

"Well she lied I am afraid. I do not know where your husband is but considering Felix never made it back I am assuming one of your vampires to wolves saved him."

"So let me call him."

"No. Chelsea I believe it is time you spent some time with Isabella. Take her to her quarters and get to know her. Food and drink will be brought to you."

"Are you planning on changing me?" May as well get this out there.

"Yes. In due time. After you have spent some quality time, getting to know Chelsea." He smiled.

"When I wake up I will kill you all."

"If you do not behave I will send numerous vampires to bring your husband to you in very small pieces." He smiled.

"Yeah? How the fuck did that work out for Felix?"

Now the smile was gone.

"If you would take her dear Chelsea?"

"Of course Master."

The brunette pulled me by the arm and began dragging me up the stairs. I heard a chuckle and looked behind me. The bored looking one was smiling. I caught his eye and he winked at me. Strange.

"I believe I will go as well, Aro. It is important that I monitor Chelsea's work. This could take a while."

"Of course Marcus."

"Let go of her Chelsea. That is no way to guide a lady to her suite." Marcus said

Chelsea released me and Marcus stuck out his arm. I shrugged my shoulders. Placing my arm on his I was escorted to my room. It was big. Nice. A bathroom. Thank God.

"Chelsea before you start, I wish to speak to Isabella alone."

"But Master Aro…"

"Is not the only ruler here. Leave. Be back in ten minutes."

Chelsea walked out. I turned to look at Marcus.

"Start what?" I didn't like the sound of that.

"Chelsea has a power to create bonds. She used it on me once. She thinks she succeeded. I suppose it did for a few hundred years but she got lazy or I became stronger. It won't work on you either. If Jane and Aro can't use their powers on you, Chelsea does not have a chance. The two of us will have to hold her off for two or three days. You will pretend that it slightly affects you. I will pretend that it is beginning to slowly work. We will stretch this out as long as possible. Just follow my lead."

"And then what?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet. But something will come to me."

"Why?"

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why would you want to help me?"

"We want the same things Bella. The enemy of my enemy if my friend."

"What do we want that is the same?"

"We both want Aro dead. I believe your friends will come to try to rescue you. When that happens the time will come to strike. You want to live in peace as a human. I want to avenge my bride. Your friends will come soon to attempt to rescue you. That will be our opportunity."

"Our opportunity to what?"

"To kill them all, Isabella. To kill them all."


	27. Chapter 27

Don't own it

A/N Oh my God. What is Jason going to do? Hell if I know. Hope everything works out. See you at the end of the chapter ;)

Chapter 27

Bo POV

Italy. Just like Mary. I wound up in Italy with not much notice. With Alice Cullen. Of course this time there were others. I was here to save my wife. Save her. It was all I could think about. We were in a villa a few miles from Volterra. I could see the walls of the city here.

"No. We aren't going in that way." Jasper said. I walked over to the hand drawn map Alice had produced of what she believed was the entire castle. With Mary in there she was having a hard time reading what was going on with her magic powers inside that damn place.

"It is the most direct route to the throne room." Peter pointed out. I liked direct.

"We don't know where she is. There are 10 wings and 100 rooms in that damn place. Plus the dungeon area underneath. Plus the throne room. If we don't know where she is, then we could hurt her even going in." Jasper was shaking his head.

"Assuming she is even a human. If not, it won't make a difference." Peter helpfully put in.

"You should turn me now Esme." I said.

"If I did it would be three days before we could attack. Maybe longer if you can't control yourself without losing your mind. Then we have to hope when you find her that Mary isn't still human or you could kill her before you knew what happened. Can't happen now, Bo."

Jasper looked at me."Besides Bo. We don't need help with the vampires. I have a few friends coming. We only need to know where she is, so if she is human you can get her out while the fighting is going on. The vampires in there, we know how to kill. The problem is getting her and getting you two out safely."

A knock on the door and the others stiffened. Jasper looked at Alice who nodded. Jasper walked towards the door and opened. More red eyed vampire walked in. Two males and a female.

"Randall, Benjamin, Tia. Thank you for coming." Peter told them walking up and shaking hands.

"Are you kidding? We have been waiting for this for years." The one name Randall replied. He walked over and hugged Garrett. Guess they knew each other.

"So I am guessing the vegetarians did not bring us a snack. So you must be Bo." The tan guy, tan for a vampire, walked up and shook my hand.

"Don't worry. We will get your wife back. I am Benjamin and this is my friend and coven mate Tia."

She walked over and shook my hand. Ben turned to Jasper.

"So what is the entry route Jasper? Front door, underground, back door, or roof?"

"I was actually thinking of all four."

"Interesting. Do tell."

"Come look at this map. The problem will be that we will need four vampires at least, wherever the wonder twins are. They are going to have to be fast. Alec's gift is slow moving. As long as he is close to his sister he can be taken. If he unleashes it, one will have to attack him from behind, throw something at him, I don't give a damn. Jane will take one vampire to the ground immediately. The other vampire will have to take her down. Quickly. She may change targets. That means the one on the ground has to be up and ready quickly. No time to wallow in pain."

"What are the teams?"

Alice, Emmett, Rose and Garrett on one team, Esme Tia, Benjamin and Randle on the other. Peter Charlotte and I will be another team. We go in the front, first. Hopefully we can draw the witch twins to us."

"You said you needed four vampires to take the twins." I pointed out. Jasper smiled at me.

"I count as two Bo."

"So who gets the 4th entrance?" Emmett asked.

"Emmett, your team takes the back door. Large old drawbridge that hasn't been used in hundreds of years. Bust it down. Benjamin you take the roof. You should be able to open the stones quickly on the way down to the bottom level where the throne room is. If Bella isn't there bring down as much of the roof as you need to."

"And the underground?" I asked. I still hadn't heard how I was getting in.

"The twins will either come to one of the main points of attack or stay in the throne room. The underground belongs to you, Leah and Seth. Bowl over any vampires you come across, keep moving. Before you get to the throne room door there will be a staircase to the left. This goes to what they consider the guest wing. It is possible she is there. If not start a search of the other wings. Leah do you really think you will be able to sniff her out with all the vampire scents."

"Yes. We will find her if she is human. Vampire scent will be lost with the others though." Leah was ready. I was damn glad her and Seth were here. "Bo will ride Seth behind me."

"I got a lighter and dynamite on me if we need it."

"Yeah, you want to be careful with that crap nephew."

Asshole.

"Do you job and I will do mine." I told him, looking him in the eyes.

He looked like he was about to say something but we heard another knock on the door. Jasper immediately tensed and placed his fingers to his lips. He walked to the door and Peter and Garrett stood on either side.

Jasper opened the door and a tall, beautiful dark haired female vampire walked in. Her skin was paler than the others and her eyes seemed almost milky. They were also a light shade of gold.

"I hope you won't attack me, Major. I come in peace."

I guess Jasper read her emotions because he seemed to relax.

"You are an ancient. How do I not know you?" he asked.

"I keep to myself. My name is Beatrice."

"What can we do for you Beatrice?" Jasper asked.

"I am here with a message from Marcus."

That caught everyone's attention.

"Marcus knows we are here?" Peter asked.

"He assumed you wouldn't be far behind and asked me to find you. I am not a member of the Volturi but have known Marcus for his entire life. He trusts me. I am probably the only person he trusts completely."

"What is the message?" Esme asked, walking up.

"I am to tell you exactly where Isabella Swan is being kept. Who is with her. The layout of the castle, and where the guards are stationed at what times. What the contingency plan is for attacks. How they will defend. Everything you need to know to destroy the Volturi."

The room was quiet. I figured I should speak.

"How do we know you aren't leading us into a trap?" I asked.

"She isn't. She is being honest." Jasper replied. "Why would you and Marcus do this?"

"Marcus has a condition. You must swear not to kill Aro."

That caught my attention. It caught the attention of everyone else in the room.

"No deal Lady. Aro is ash at the end of this." I told her.

"Of course he is. But you must swear to leave him to Marcus. Marcus insists on being the one to kill him. He will help you in your battle. He desires the destruction of all the Volturi. But Aro is his."

"Why?" Garrett asked.

"His reasons are his own. Do we have a bargain?"

Jasper looked at me. He then nodded.

"Then let us get to work shall we? This needs to happen quickly."

"Wait. Is my wife…is she still human?" I had to ask.

"Would it matter to you?" she smiled at me.

"Yes it would. I would need to know if I need to be turned into a vampire before I get to her."

"You would give up your life to be with her? Turn into one of the undead?"

"Yep."

"I see." She continued smiling. "Marcus assures me she is still a very sarcastic, funny, somewhat surprisingly for her size, violent human who is waiting patiently for her husband."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Thank you."

"Marcus has been stalling Aro from changing her. Aro won't be denied much longer and Marcus cannot kill Aro while Aro has the guard at his command. I would suggest we hurry."

"Of course." I shut the hell up and listened. Esme put her hand on my shoulder. It would be okay. I'm coming to get you baby. Nothing on earth is going to stop me.

Bella POV

"This food sucks. Can I just cook my own? Take me to the kitchen."

"You are not allowed to leave this room." The bitch named Chelsea, said to me. Marcus was sitting in a corner chair, barely suppressing a grin.

"Why not? It's not like I can escape." I pointed out. I looked at Marcus and he slightly shook his head. I guess he needed me to stay put.

"The food is fine."

"How do you fuck up Spaghetti in Italy? Didn't you guys invent this stuff?" It really wasn't that bad. I just felt like being a bitch because I could.

"Master, this is not working." Chelsea must be getting frustrated. "It is like hitting a brick wall."

"Oh, but it is Chelsea. Her wall is beginning to crack. I can see it. Patience Chelsea. She is only human. I have faith that you can bond her to us."

"Of course Master." She continued to sit in the corner and stare at me. I made a face at her. I had been playing staring games with her. I usually lost but I would roll my eyes up into my head and stuck my tongue out before I gave up. I think it freaked her out a little. Bo thought it was funny as hell.

"Perhaps you should try to break down her natural animosity by showing her that we are not all bad Chelsea. She will be with us for eternity. Being rude is not a good way to start off our relationship with our soon to be member."

"Master? You want me to…"

"Be polite. Smile. It breaks down walls much more effectively than a frown."

"Be nice?"

"Yes. Why don't you take a break and go see if we can find Isabella more appropriate food to her liking. I will keep her company."

"But…"

"Chelsea if I have to remind you one more time that Aro is not the only ruler here, I will not be smiling, nor will I be polite. Go. Now. Hurry back once proper food has been attained."

I noticed Chelsea hesitated.

"Now Chelsea!" Whoa. Marcus was standing in her face now. Chelsea was shaking. This was the first time I had seen him lose his temper. He looked pretty…bad ass. Chelsea was gone.

"Wow. Quite the temper you have Marcus."

He smiled that sad smile he seems to always have.

"Says the girl who crushed Gianna's nose and cracked her cheek bone."

"I told her it wasn't personal." I shrugged my shoulders.

"It is almost a shame, Isabella. You would make a fantastic vampire."

"If my posse doesn't get here quick it may not be my choice."

Marcus looked at his phone and smiled.

"I am afraid I shall have to leave you for a moment. Can you promise to stay put? I can't have your rescuers looking all over the castle for you."

"They are here?"

"Yes. Now I have to go clear a corridor. The time has come. If I do not see you again Isabella it has been an honor. If I do see you again, I will have a gift for you. "

"A gift?"

"In due time. I promise to do my best to see you again."

And Marcus was gone.

So I sat. Alone for the first time since I had been taken. I hopped on the bed. Sitting on the edge. I sniffed my arm pits. I hadn't changed clothes or bathed since I got here. I stunk. Shit.

I would have to get some deodorant when I got out and was on my way to my man. I wonder who was coming to get me.

Whoa. The walls just shook a little bit. I thought I heard a boom in the distance.

Okay. Probably should stand up now. The floor just shook. Another boom. What the hell? Sounds like someone is blowing the damn castle up. I needed…no. I told Marcus I would stay. He is right. I can't have whoever is coming looking all over the place.

I listened to screams. Walls sounded like they were being smashed. If I could hear it from here it must be bad.

Jasper POV

"Dynamite? We are using dynamite?" Peter asked.

"Yep." I tossed the lit dynamite over the front wall. I just needed a little distraction. We ran towards the front gate while I heard the dynamite go off in the background. Peter kicked in the gate and Charlotte and rushed in. Coming out of the castle just as I expected, were Jane and Alec. Aro would have Renata. He felt she was enough to keep him safe. How wrong he was.

"Charlotte, Peter! Take Alec now."

I noticed Alec had a look of panic on his face when he realized what I said. Just like our scouting report said. Deadly gift but not much fighting skill. I looked at Jane. She wasn't smiling. Then my head exploded.

I had two choices. The pain was unbearable.

For most people.

I could lay here like a pussy while waiting for Peter and Char to finish off Alec. But I would bet more vampires are coming.

Jane just yelled Alec's name but she wasn't letting up. Time to man up.

I slowly rose from the ground.

The thing about Jane's gift is that it is mental, not physical. Therefore I only hurt in my head. Mind over matter. If I don't mind, it don't matter.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. The look of shock on her face gave me new strength.

I blasted more fear towards her than I ever have at anyone in my life. The pain magnified it. She fell to the ground now. The pain was gone. She was shivering. Peter and Charlotte were fighting reinforcements. I walked over to the little girl lying on the ground shaking.

"Relax."

She instantly calmed to the point that she was barely moving. She didn't deserve this mercy. But I gave it to her anyway. She was calm and actually smiling as I twisted her head off. I lit her quickly and moved on. There was more killing to do.

Bo POV

"Open the door and get out of the way."

Leah moved towards the door leading underground silently. She ripped it open and I tossedthe bindle of dynamite.

We both ran away. We heard the boom. Jasper's explosion set in motion the plan Jasper laid out. Mine was the second signal. Beatrice told us where the twins would be and Jasper said he and his team would take care of it. We had an idea of where Mary was. A few vampires would be in our way. Nothing we couldn't handle. Especially if they were disoriented from the blast. Leah undressed behind me and Seth I assumed did the same. Leah was running in. Seth bent down and I jumped on his back gripping his fur and ducking my head. We ran in behind Leah who was already growling.

I don't know what these vampires expected, but apparently they weren't expecting two giant wolves with very big teeth to come charging through the door. I held onto Seth closely. He was tearing vampires to pieces. An arm just flew by my head. I ducked before a head Leah just tore off could hit me. I started pulling the ten Zippos I had on me and tossing them at bodies on the ground. Soon a haze of purple smoke filled the air. Leah took off and Seth and I followed. It was a narrow passage but we all fit through. Barely. Up the hall and to the left. Fourth door, on the right. A brunette vampire was standing in front of the door. The door that held my wife. She growled and then thought better. She took off. Before she got to the bend in the wall Leah was on her. Jaws around her head. Body dropping without it. The growl Leah let loose shook the stone walls. Seth walked up to the door Mary was supposedly behind. I hopped off and ran to the vamp body, lit it up and ran back.

"Knock it down Seth."

Seth whined and nodded his head towards the door. I didn't understand and he rolled his big eyes.

Oh.

"Mary! Get away from the door!" I heard footsteps running away from the door. Should have figured that dork would be listening at the door. She probably had her ear cupped to the wood.

Seth lifted a paw and knocked the door off its hinges. It landed straight back with a loud boom.

There she was.

"Bo?"

"Where the hell is my big cup of Coke with crushed ice?" I smiled at her.

"You fucking idiot what are you doing here? You could get killed!" Despite her protests she ran up and jumped on me. I crashed into her lips. I wasn't stopping until Seth nudge me in the back reminding me we were in a castle where a major vampire war was taking place.

"Why did you come for me yourself?"

"We ride together, we die together right? Bad boys for life?"

"Oh my God, you are such a gorgeous idiot."

"Let's get you out of here."

"No. We have to go help."

"I have to get you safe."

"Leah. You wanna go tear up some more vamps?" She asked.

Fucking traitor shook her head and dropped down. Mary hopped up on her.

I looked at Seth.

"What are you waiting for? Drop you ass to the ground. I got 8 lighters left."

Looks like we were going to ride our wolves into battle.

Bella POV

Holy shit he came with the others. Why am I surprised? I would have come for him. Nothing could have stopped me.

I wanted to get Leah and Seth to run us back to Texas. But we would be looking over our shoulders. That wasn't going to happen. I planned to make sure they were all dead. We wouldn't be bothered again.

The speed Leah was moving at was amazing. We saw a large door that looked nearly destroyed, barely hanging on its hinges. We ran in and I nearly lost my breath.

Fighting was going on everywhere. Vampires were flashing so quickly I could barely see who was who. I noticed the two guys in the middle though. Jasper and Peter. They were growling.

A vampire flew at Leah's feet. He was missing a leg. We didn't know him. Knew him I mean. Bo just tossed a lighter at him and he went up in flames.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Garrett asked running up.

'"We came to help." I told him.

"Then get off the wolves so they can fight and stay against the wall. Light up who we throw at you."

Esme just crashed into the wall next to me. She stood up, growled and she and Rose jumped on a blonde vampire. He didn't stand a chance.

Suddenly all was silent. Plumes were going up all over. I noticed my friends. My family. Some vampires I didn't know. I guess since they were still standing they were friends.

Bo grabbed my hand and pulled me close.

"I guess that is Marcus?"

"Yeah."

Marcus was circling Aro. Aro looked scared. He couldn't stop gazing at the burned remains of his guard and then back at Marcus.

"Why?" He whispered.

"Why? You killed my wife. Your own sister? Why? Because you needed me to read the bonds of others? You bastard, you severed my one bond that mattered."

"Romanians…"

"Don't blame it on the Romanians , Aro. I gave you the benefit of the doubt for too long. But your other sister, Beatrice, figured out the truth. She became acquainted with Maggie of the Irish Coven. They spoke to Steven and Vladimir. She knew they did not kill my wife."

"But…"

"And if they didn't kill her that left you."

"Beatrice?"

"Yes. The one sister you didn't need so you let her go. Her gift was no use to you. You would have let Didyme go. Except you needed me. You killed my wife so you could gather power. You have lived one thousand years too long. I plan to rectify this."

"Brother please." Aro whispered.

"I am not your brother."

The fight was too quick for me to keep up with. Finally Marcus slammed Aro to the floor by his throat.

"I will see you in hell some day Aro. And I will kill you over and over there as well."

Marcus tore off his arms. He tore off his legs. He burned them in front of Aro. Aro screamed.

A beautiful chalky white woman glided into the throne room. She handed Marcus a torch. She lit his from hers. They both brought their torches towards his screaming torso and slowly lit him on fire at his waist. They smiled as the flames crawled slowly to his head. A last scream was heard before Aro's jaw caught fire.

"Where is Caius?" I asked.

"He would be that pile of ash in front of his throne." Peter pointed out.

Marcus turned towards me. I ran to him and wrapped him in a hug.

He said nothing but he did smile.

I turned to my friends around the room.

"Thanks for coming to get me everybody."

No one said a word but I saw a lot of smiles. Then the hugs came. I was lifted from one vampire to another. Feeling their cold hugs. I finally got to my husband who wrapped me up in his warm arms. Then Leah and Seth came running in. I guess they went to get their clothes. Bo and I were both wrapped in their arms.

I had tears in my eyes. I wanted to be a tough bitch too.

"Isabella?"

I turned at Marcus's voice.

"I prefer Mary actually.

"Of course. I would like you to meet my sister in law, Beatrice."

"A pleasure Beatrice." I was a bit confused.

"My sister in law has a gift. A gift that was never appreciated by Aro. She is a healer."

"A healer?" Bo asked. "What does she need to be healed from?" Raid a castle full of vampires and he is gung ho. Think something might be wrong with me and he freaks out.

"Calm down Bo. I'm fine."

"You are not. Associating with vampires has cost you." Marcus said. He raised my hand.

"You were not turned. But the scar remains. It remains cold. Venom remains. Venom that has affected your body."

"You mean…"

"Yes. Your inability to have children. Other problems may develop later on. You have a small amount of venom in you. Not enough to turn you. Not enough to kill you. But enough to cause you problems. The inability to have children is but a start."

Bo was squeezing my hand so hard I thought it might break. This was bad.

"So I now offer you a choice. The two of you can be turned into one of us if you wish, or my sister in law can heal you."

"She can heal me?" I whispered.

"Yes. All effects of the venom will be removed from your body. You will be able to have children. The negative affects that could cause cancer later will be gone. The choice is yours. Live forever or live forever through your descendants."

I turned and looked at Bo. I knew what I wanted. I think I knew what he wanted. He nodded my head.

"We want children. We want to live."

Beatrice walked up to me and placed her cool hands on my cheeks. I suddenly saw a bright light and couldn't see. My body felt like it was on fire. I felt like I was having blood drawn from my body. It reminded me of when I was in the hospital.

Finally I could see. Beatrice was staring into my eyes. She was smiling.

"Is it done?"

"Look at your wrist."

I looked down at my wrist and gasped. My scar was gone. I touched the skin. It was so smooth. Like it had never happened. My skin was warm. I turned and saw Bo looking at my wrist in amazement.

I looked at Marcus and Beatrice.

"Thank you so much."

Marcus smiled at me. "Leave here Marianne. Leave the vampire world to us. Go be happy. Have children. Live your life. It has been a pleasure knowing you."

I nodded my head. Bo placed his arm around me and we walked out. It was time to go home.

Jasper POV

"So what now Marcus?" I asked, once the wolves and Bo and Bella had left the room.

"Truthfully I would like nothing better than to die but my sister in law won't let me. So I suppose the two of us will rebuild. Recruit true volunteers now to handle the vampire world. To make sure humans are not bothered by us. To make sure what happened to that girl never happens to another human. The world needs the Volturi. It is time we became what we set out to be in the first place. What Aro led us to believe we would be."

I nodded my head.

"If you need our help…"

"Of course Major. I know I can rely on you. There is one thing you can all do for me."

"Name it." I said, perhaps too quickly.

"Leave that girl alone. Say your goodbyes and go live your lives and let her live her life."

That was met with silence.

"He's right." Esme of all people said.

"Esme?" Alice asked.

"We want her to have a happy life. But we have to leave her alone. She needs to be free. Free from us. We can watch occasionally, but we can never…"

"Yes." I agreed.

"We will say our goodbyes when we reach home. Then we leave. We all leave. This time though, we will say goodbye." Esme had tears in her eyes. This will probably be the most difficult thing she has ever done. If she can do it, so can we.

We all nodded and shook Marcus's hand. I stopped on the way out.

"Why didn't you heal her mind?" I asked. Everyone stopped. I turned toward Beatrice.

"You could have given her back her childhood memories."

"Yes, I could have. But with it would come the pain. The memory of being tortured by the vampire who bit her. The fear. The memory of being kidnapped by a rapist and kept tied up for three days and fighting for her life, half starved and dehydrated. She would remember the feelings of abandonment when she was drawn in by vampires and then cast aside. No. I saw the memories in her head. They were best made new memories with her mother before she died. She knows of her past, even if she can't remember it. She has a fresh start. No lingering scars. On her body or her heart. The past could only drag her down."

I nodded my head. She was right. Without another word we turned and walked out. It was time to take Bo and Bella…Mary, home.

A/N

Nope. That wasn't quite the end. We are getting close but that is not it. Hang on.


	28. Chapter 28

Don't own it

A/N- This is the last chapter. It will have quite a few different viewpoints and cover a lot of time in snap shots. I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter 28

BPOV

"So you are leaving."

"Yes." Esme whispered.

I knew this was coming. They were very quiet on the flight back. We had been home for one day. I heard the doorbell and opened it to find Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Alice and Esme standing at my door.

"I understand."

"You do?" she asked me.

"Yes. We live different lives. Humans and vampires…it just doesn't work long term, does it?"

"No." Esme shook her head.

"I love you. You know that right? I will love you as long as I live." I told her truthfully.

"I know Bella. I will always love you too. We all will."

"Esme you grab onto Garrett and don't let go." I told her. I hoped she would listen.

"I will Bella." I didn't even correct her. She could call me whatever she wanted this time.

Alice was crying. Well, crying as much as she can with the whole no tears thing.

"I love you Alice." I hugged her. I hugged them all. They didn't say goodbye. Neither did I. They all walked out. Except for Esme.

"Here is my number. If you ever need me or something happens with your health or Bo's you call me and if you want I will change you both."

"No. Bo and I. We will die together when it is our time. If vampires and werewolves exist so does God. I may need to start paying more attention in Church but one of us will be good enough to pull the other into Heaven. I will love him in the next world too."

"I know."

Esme walked over to Bo and hugged him. He hugged her back. "You take care of my girl Bo. Just like you always do."

"I will Esme."

Esme began walking towards the door and stopped. I wiped the tears from my eyes. I wanted to be strong.

"Bo, Peter asked me to give this too you. He said to call it when the time is right. He will be there to take care of it."

Bo nodded his head. We had talked about this on the way back from Italy. Bo and Peter had talked. I listened and tried to stay awake.

Esme gave me another hug and walked out of our lives.

Bo walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"So what now?" he asked me.

"Now we live."

"Sounds good to me, darlin. We should go have dinner with your dad. He was freaked out about the whole being kidnapped again thing."

"Yeah. He will be glad to know it's over." I sniffed a little bit and went to change into something presentable for dinner. I would say I was looking forward to a normal life with my husband but it wasn't true. Normal was boring and nothing was ever boring around my husband.

"Hey Bo?"

"Yeah babe?"

"I want a baby."

"Okay."

"Let's get started."

"Now?"

"Yeah now." I said.

"But what about dinner?"

"You can have your dessert first." I threw off my shirt and dropped my blue jeans. He was on me before they got past my knees.

Yeah. I could get used to normal.

_4 months later_

"I have what?" I must not have heard the doctor right. This couldn't be.

"You are going to have twins. Congratulations. Both boys."

I looked at Bo and he seemed to be having the same reaction as I was.

Complete and utter shock.

"I guess I will need to build another bed." He whispered. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. You can see them right here."

Two boys. I was having two babies.

Oh my God, I was having two babies.

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "We better get home and bust that baby name book out again darlin. We are going to need a couple boys name."

_5 months later_

"Bo."

"What?" He was still asleep.

"Wake up!"

"I am awake."

"No you're not. You're doing that thing where you tell me you are awake but you really aren't."

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. I couldn't exactly lay on top of him anymore so he had started holding me from behind while I spooned his body.

"What's wrong? Heart burn?"

"No. Contractions." That woke his cute ass up.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Don't curse around the babies! Now get me to the hospital before it's too late and you have to deliver these boys yourself." He helped me up. He helped me get dressed. He practically carried me to the truck. We were at the hospital ten minutes later.

I won't lie. I was scared. One baby would have scared the hell out of me. Two…

"Don't be scared. You're the strongest woman I know. Look what you have survived. This is nothing for you."

"Did I say I was scared out loud?"

"I know your soul."

I shivered a little. The last time he said that was under the covers after my mother's funeral. It was true then and it was true now.

Ten hours of pain later and the first of my baby boys finally came into this world. The doctor handed him to Bo. He looked at him. We agreed on the firstborn's name. Bo whispered his name staring at him like he was staring at the sun for the first time.

"Benjamin Samuel Walker."

I was caught up in the moment. I was exhausted. Then a burst of pain brought me back to the present and remembered that I had one more of these kids to push out.

I could only grunt and moan. I couldn't curse anymore. The first baby was out. I wouldn't curse around my babies.

Ten minutes later our second son was born into the world. Bo handed Ben to the nurse and held our newest baby.

"Marcus Benjamin Walker."

Bo handed me my babies. I was exhausted. I hurt. But all I could do was think about how beautiful they were. They were so perfect. Angels.

_3 years later_

"Dammit boys get out of the damn mud puddle! Bo! You are supposed to be watching them! I can't carry your baby and run a wedding and watch them! Now what the hell are we supposed to do? Their clothes are filthy and Leah is walking down the aisle in fifteen minutes."

I was already irritated. 9 months pregnant. Hot as hell out here. My sister walking down the aisle. I'm the maid of honor. I have had to get my dress resized three times now.

Bo was laughing. Charlie was laughing. I didn't find this shit funny.

"Momma, we go swimming?" Mark asked.

"You watched them do this, didn't you? Dammit Bo!"

"Mary I swear I will get them clean. I brought extra clothes. I got this."

"Hurry. You're the best man. Travis looks like he is ready to pass out. Get them changed and go stand in your place."

"Yes ma'am." He winked at me. Damn I was horny. He really looked good. That black tux. That cowboy hat he bought for this wedding. My hormones in overdrive.

I walked slowly down the aisle. The same aisle I walked down with Dad on my arm to marry the man of my dreams. Just like then, he was waiting with that gorgeous smile at the end of it. We had so much to do. Our store in Tyler had just opened three months ago. We were still hiring employees. I still didn't have my little girl's room ready for her arrival. But today. Right now. I was going to go relax and try to figure out a way to dance with him. And then get him to go home early. Or maybe take him in the parking lot. Maybe the bathroom? I doubt I would fit in a stall. I would figure out something. The minute little Renee Ann came out I wouldn't be able to have sex for 6 weeks. I had to make the most of my time.

We decided on Renee Ann. Ann was Bo's mother's name. We were traditionalists.

Watching Leah get married was so sweet. She hadn't phased since we came back from Italy. She started having her cycle again. Her temperature went back to normal. A recent trip to the Gyno revealed that there was absolutely no reason she couldn't have children. Her and Travis certainly had enough practice. She had done so much for us. For me. We really had become sisters. Seth was like a little brother. A little brother who looked so handsome in his tux right now.

I was thankful. Life couldn't get any better. I turned and saw Charlie walking Leah down the aisle. Sue was crying. Bo was standing next to Travis. Oh shit. Chris must be watching the boys.

I whipped my head around in time to see Mark and Ben both jump into that damn puddle again. Bo was smiling. Asshole.

My boys turned around and smiled at me. Ben just cupped muddy water and poured it over Mark's hair. They were both laughing.

Life huh?

Then I heard Leah say I do. She was crying. Yep. Life was pretty damn good.

Ben POV 15 years later

"Nee nee. Tell big brother what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She responded. She was currently sitting between me and Mark in my truck. We were heading to the mall. She was going to hang out with her friends and Mark and I were going to meet our girlfriends.

Our baby sister looked very pale.

"Tell us Renee." Mark said.

"I…I needed to get my saddle out of the shed."

Oh shit. Despite having three stores in Tyler and two in Dallas, Dad and Mom still worked in that shed. Mom did most of her paperwork there and Dad made his new designs in that shed.

"Was the door closed Renee?"

"Yes, but it wasn't locked. I opened it and saw…"

"They were…yeah, they were doing that, weren't they? On Mom's desk?"

"Yes… it's horrible. I mean Dad is 42 and Mom is 38 and they still go at it. I mean she is pregnant again! Who the hell gets pregnant at her age? You guys get to go to college next year. I have two more years of listening to that." Poor Nee Nee.

"Did they know you saw?" Mark asked.

"God no! I was frozen. The sounds…I finally slipped the door closed quietly and ran. Ben you and Mark need to have a conversation with them! They are too old for that."

"I don't think you can get to old for that Renee. At least till you are in your fifties."

"At least now that Mom is pregnant again her and Dad won't be getting in bar fights anymore." Mark commented. He had a good point.

"Yeah, now if we can just get you to two stop getting into fights, our family would be perfect."

"Didn't you hit Holly Lewis in the nose last week?" I pointed out.

"Totally different situation." She responded, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. Look, we are going to be in the food court. We are going to meet there in three hours. Don't be running off Renee." I told her. There were more than a few nights when she took off with a boy and Mark and I had to hunt his ass down. She better be damn glad we never told Dad. He probably wouldn't take it well.

"I promise."

"If Bobby is here, stay the hell away from him. He is bad news and too old for you." Mark told her.

"I can talk to who I want, Mark."

"Yes you can. But if you talk to him I am going to put a boot in his ass."

Renee sighed. Poor kid. Seeing Mom and Dad polishing the desk. It was bound to happen. I remember one time Mark and I had snuck our girlfriends in the shed when we were 15. Mom and Dad came in so we had to hide behind a desk Dad had just built. Then we had to listen. For an hour. With our girlfriends hiding next to us.

We were hanging out in the food court when I saw him. Renee was on the other side of the food court. She was talking to a guy I had never seen before. Thick bronze hair. Pale. Thin. I pulled out a photo Dad have given me the day Renee turned 15. It was some dude. The photo had been cut out of a larger photograph so it was only him.

Dad told Mark and I too keep this photo. If we ever saw this guy around Renee we were to call him immediately.

"You seein what I'm seein?" I asked Mark.

"Yeah, let's go kick the shit out of him." Mark stood up. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"No. We promised Dad that we would call him and let him know. No questions remember? We promised."

Mark sat down but continued to glare. Renee was laughing.

"Hello my big little boy." Mom answered.

"Hey Mom. Is Dad there?"

"Why? What did you do that you can't tell me?"

I had to laugh. You get one little ticket for disorderly conduct at a pasture party which I was still convinced was perfectly legal activity on private land and Mom acts like you are a career criminal.

"Nothing Mom. Remember the picture Dad gave us on Renee's birthday?"

"Yes." She whispered.

"The guy is at the other end of the food court talking to her now. You want us to take care of it?"

"No! Do not approach him but do not let your sister out of your sight. Your Dad and I are on our way." She ended the call.

"What did she say?"

"Keep Renee in sight and stay back. She and Dad are on their way over."

"Alrighty then." Mark kicked back and resumed trying to talk his way into Brittany's panties.

May as well do the same with Bailey. But I kept any eye on my little sister. I don't know how Dad knew this guy was coming. But he did. He thought this guy was bad news. That was enough for me.

Bella POV

"Bo?"

"Yeah?"

"Make the call."

"Serious?"

"Hurry. You can make it on the way to the Tyler Mall."

We drove without a word. I was anxious. I had been anxious ever since Renee had turned 15. I wasn't sure if this day would come. But the conversation with Peter 18 years ago on the plane ride back from Italy came true. I guess he really did know some things. Bo kept his conversation brief. He ended the call and turned to me.

"He is already in Tyler. He said he will meet him in the front of the loading dock by Sears. We just bring her to our truck next to it."

"Sounds like a plan. Let me guess. He just knew to be here?"

"Yep." Bo smiled.

We pulled in and parked as close to the Sear loading dock as we could. Walking in I saw my handsome boys sitting with their girlfriends draped across them. Ben caught my eye and then looked towards the back of the Food Court. There he was. I couldn't remember ever seeing him in person. But I knew he would come. I knew it. Renee was laughing at something he was saying. It wouldn't happen.

We walked over. They both looked up. Edward's face went a little paler if possible.

"Hey Mom! This is Edward. We just met tonight. He is moving here. His Dad is a doctor."

"Oh really? Interesting. It's time to leave baby."

"What do you mean Mom? I was going home with Ben and Mark?"

"Sweetie Edward here is a 24 year old sex offender. Ben recognized him from the local sex offender website. Edward preys on girls at malls."

Renee glared at Edward.

"You son of a bitch!"

"She is lying…"

"You are calling my mother a liar?" Renee was pissed now. Good.

"Come with Daddy, baby girl." Bo placed his hand on her shoulder and she stood up and walked out with him.

"So how did you find us Edward?"

"It is good to see you again Bella. Lovely as ever. I hear two heartbeats. Congratulations."

"How did you find us, Edward?"

"I finally tracked down Esme. I stayed outside of her house. I am afraid Garrett would not have had a good reaction should I have shown up unannounced. But I could hear her thoughts. She was looking at a picture of you. Thinking about you. I was quite shocked to find you were alive. I am quite angry my former family kept this from me. I wanted to see you for myself."

"And instead you saw my daughter, right?"

"The resemblance is amazing." He was smiling.

"Don't come near my daughter again, Edward."

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen. I am pretty certain I can convince her your sex offender story was a case of mistaken identity. Perhaps I should tell her the truth. Do you think she would be as drawn to vampires as you were?"

"Probably. But you won't have an opportunity to find out. Good bye Edward."

I turned away and walked towards the door. Ben and Mark had left. Bo and Renee were waiting for me. We walked slowly to the truck. Renee was a bit shaken but seemed okay. Before I got in I heard it. The sound of marble breaking. As we were driving off I saw a flash in the dumpster.

I smiled at Bo. He smiled back.

Goodbye Edward.

Edward POV

I couldn't believe how perfect she was. At first I was angry that Bella had been alive and I was not told. Carlisle felt betrayed. We found Esme. He went to confront Esme. I stayed outside. I read her mind. She gave him up for Bella. Then she betrayed him with Garrett.

I was so focused on Esme's thoughts I never paid attention to Garrett's. Carlisle was on fire a second after he called Esme a bitch. I ran. Straight to Texas. I found her house. I watched her family. I saw her daughter. I was taken back in time. I had a chance to right the wrong decisions I had made in the past. I could find love again.

Talking to her tonight made me realize how like Bella she was. Funny, sweet, slightly sarcastic. Beautiful. She also nearly smelled the same as Bella.

Bella showing up was a definite surprise. I am not even sure how she knew who I was. I picked up from Esme what happened. I don't know how she knew that I would be there. But she was. She was pregnant. Only slightly noticeable. Beautiful.

I followed the three of them out into the parking lot. I walked into the shadowy corner of the loading dock and watched them walk towards their vehicle. Then I heard them. Their thoughts were silent but their scents did not lie.

"Hello Edward."

I froze.

"Jasper. Peter."

"Good bye Edward." Peter said.

I am not sure what happened next. I felt Jasper's teeth on my neck and Peter twisting my legs off. I saw Jasper dropping a lighter, falling towards my face…

Bella POV.

My phone received a text while I held onto my baby girl and had a conversation about being careful about talking to new people she did not know, without her big brothers around.

I picked up my phone and looked at the text.

"It's done." I told Bo, smiling. He smiled and nodded.

"What's done, Mom?"

"Some old friends did us a favor by taking out some trash and burning it at one of the stores, honey. Just business. Nothing you need to worry about."

She seemed to take the explanation and then proceeded to tell me about some new type of blue jeans that she saw. I took a deep breath. It was over. Edward Cullen was dead.

_40 years later_

Ben POV

I walked into the house, using my key. The house I grew up in. The house my grandparents raised my Dad and Aunt Stephanie. The house where we were raised by my parents. My parents who were currently not feeling well. Usually despite not feeling well, Mom was up drinking coffee with Dad by this point. The house was too quiet.

I walked down the hall and saw the door was still closed. My heart was shattering.

I had to do this.

I opened the door and walked to the bed. The bed my Dad had made my Mother so long ago. They were lying like they always did. The same way they Mark and I would find them when we ran inside in the mornings as kids. Mom was laid across Dad's chest and his arms were around her. I spoke to them last night. They had gone to bed smiling. They were smiling now. Mom's hands were in Dad's hair and his arms were wrapped around her. They went to sleep together and died. I would bet they died at the same time. I walked out and somehow through the tears managed to call Mark. Then Renee. Renee told me she would call our baby sister Tina. I didn't have it in me to call her. After telling Mark and Renee I didn't have it in me. I had to call my kids. They had to break it to our grandkids. It had happened so fast. We were celebrating their anniversary last week. Four days ago they began to not look good. I tried to talk them both into going to see a doctor but they just smiled and said they were fine.

I walked around the house and looked at the pictures on the mantle. Us kids growing up. Grandkids, great grandkids. Vacations they had taken. The picture they took when the first store opened. Mom was pregnant with Renee. Robert Walker Designs had 16 locations now. Mark and I did the designs now. Soon it would be our boys who took over. Working with wood runs in the family. Renee was still CEO. She would be at that desk until she died. I sat on the couch and cried.

Finally I stopped and smiled. They lived together and left this world together. They were in Heaven together.

We buried them 4 days later. The funeral was beautiful. It was a celebration of their lives. The only weird thing I noticed was on the hill at the cemetery. Eight very pale, very beautiful people stood off in the distance. I looked up after the ceremony, wanting to introduce myself but they were gone. My youngest granddaughter walked up to me. She looked so much like Mom. Her name was Isabella. She preferred Bella.

"You okay Grandpa?"

I knelt down and wiped the tears from her eyes. She wiped the tears from mine.

"Yeah sweetie. I'm okay."

"We will see them again, one day. Right Grandpa?"

"You bet we will kid."

I knew though that they were seeing me right now. I could feel them watching. I looked at the sky and saw two birds flying off. I hope there are no bars in Heaven. Some angels would be getting black eyes.

Bella POV

I went to bed last night feeling every bit my age. Neither of us had been feeling very well. This morning though I felt great.

I opened my eyes and looked at Bo.

He was…

"Bo? Bo!"

"Yeah?"

He opened his eyes and gasped.

"You…"

"Me too?" I asked.

" Yes."

I slowly rose from his warm chest. I felt…18 again. Bo looked like he did when I met him.

"Bo…are we dead?" I was breathing. I could feel my heartbeat.

"Yeah.. I guess. Either that or we are dreaming."

We both got out of bed and I walked to the closet. My clothes were there. The clothes that Bo had bought me when I came home from the hospital.

"Bo, where are we?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

Then I heard them. Laughter in our living room. We walked hand in hand down the hall.

"Mom? Dad?" I asked.

"Mom and Dad?" Bo asked. I instantly recognized the people I had only seen in pictures. Bo's parents. I looked around and saw Phil. Sue was there.

"Where are we?"

Mom ran up and hugged me. She was real.

"Your home baby. You are finally home."

I looked at Bo. He pulled me into his arms.

"Is this Heaven?" He asked.

"Yeah. This is Heaven. Want me to show you two around?" Charlie asked.

"Around?" I asked confused.

"Yeah. You can watch your family. There seems to be no end to the places you can go. The things you can see and do. It really is paradise, Mary. But I have a feeling that you two will be spending most of eternity here, right?"

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

"It was paradise here when we were on Earth. Don't see why now would be any different."

Bo's mother Ann walked up and grabbed my hand.

"Mary you have to sit and tell us about our great great grandchildren. We have been watching them. They are growing so big."

"Yeah they are."

Bo sat down next to me and wrapped me in his arms.

"Then we have so much catching up to do." Ann said. Renne was nodding her head as well.

"Sounds great. I think I will get some breakfast on. Wait do we eat here?"

"This is Heaven dear. You can do whatever makes you happy." Renee said.

"Just don't miss Church. Trust me you wouldn't want to anyway. It's amazing. Wait until you meet the pastor." Charlie winked. "Now we can eat after I show you some of my favorite spots. You wouldn't believe this fishing pond I found Bo. Then your friends want to catch up with you two."

"Which friends?" I asked.

"All of them, Mary." Charlie smiled.

I placed my lips on Bo. He kissed me back so softly.

"This world and the next huh?" I smiled.

"Just like we vowed, baby."

" I love you, Bo."

"I love you too, Mary."

The end.

A/N

Okay that was a tough chapter to write. Traceybuie had mentioned in a review that she sort of wished they would have become vampires so their love could go on forever. I like to think love goes on forever anyway.

Thanks to all the readers and reviewers of this story. I can't believe the response I got from a Bella/OC story. Ya'll are amazing. Seriously. Wanted was my favorite story I had ever written but I think this one is now. I fell in love with these characters and I hope you all did as well. We laughed together. Maybe cried a little together. It was awesome. Until next time everybody.


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